Look Out World, Here Comes The New Sannin!
by ShiningSunsets
Summary: AU. When Kakashi finds three orphans alone on the streets, he makes himself a promise. He's going to raise them, and make them the most powerful team in Konoha's history.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first story, so I apologize for any errors. This is obviously AU, but it should follow most of the canon plot line, with Wave, the Chunin Exams, etc. ****I hope you all enjoy!**

**Edits 3/5/14: Just some minor plot tweaks and lengthening the chapter a bit.**

Hatake Kakashi was no child.

Kakashi was a prodigy, graduation the Academy at the age of six. He was Sharingan no Kakashi, the Copy-nin, copier of a thousand jutsu. He was an ANBU commander, probably one of the youngest ever in history. He was feared and idolized throughout the Hidden Villages, and his name in every bingo book.

Then why the _hell_ was Sarutobi berating him like a four-year-old child!?

"Kakashi," Sarutobi said sternly, "This is the third time this month I've had to personally summon you about one of your missions-gone-wrong."

Kakashi internally rolled his eyes.

"Under no circumstances are you allowed to _flood an entire town with water jutsus just to wipe out THREE ENEMY NINJA_!"

Kakashi winced. "Hokage-sama..."

Sarutobi sighed. "Kakashi, I truly expected better of you. You are an extremely powerful ANBU, one of the best in our village, but this time you've gone too far." Kakashi was NOT liking the sound of this. "Therefor, I have no choice but to take you off active duty until I see that you can control your impulses for destruction."

Kakashi froze. No. Freaking. Way.

"What!? But Hokage-sama, it was an accide-"

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, his pipe smoking. "Kakashi, this is not the first time I have heard that excuse. My decision is final."

"Hokage-sama..." Kakashi pleaded.

"No buts, Kakashi. You are dismissed." Sarutobi ordered, his voice like steel.

Kakashi sighed. When Lord Hokage used that tone, there was no changing his mind. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

The now former-ANBU flew through a series of hand signs, and with a swirl of leaves Hatake Kakashi disappeared.

Sarutobi rubbed his temples. _What am I going to do with you, Kakashi..._

* * *

Kakashi wandered the twilight streets of Konoha, grumbling about the injustice of it all. The cool, crisp air did nothing to calm the raging storm rapidly building inside him.

_Why the hell did the old geezer take me off active duty!? That was practically stripping me of my ANBU rank! I was one of the Hokage's best ninja!_

He looked towards the sky, glaring fiercely at a cloud that looked suspiciously like his ANBU mask.

Now, he was nothing but a jounin. A _jounin_. How pathetic is that!?

Growling under his breath, he decided to get something to eat and cool his head. Heading to the dango stand sounded like a pretty good idea right now...

Putting his hands in his pockets, he stormed across the streets of nighttime Konoha in search of the dango shop.

The streets seemed pretty much totally deserted, a few citizens taking late-night walks and some parents returning from work. Kakashi identified 4 ninja, probably a jounin and his genin team, leaping across the rooftops, nothing but quick shadows.

Kakashi gave another low growl. Not only was he confined to A-Rank missions, it was officially his responsibility to take on a team of brats straight out of the Academy, probably with no experience or talent whatsoever.

Pfft. Like he'd ever pass a team, much less take one on in the first place!

Reaching the stand, he pulled out his wallet and looked at the dango hungrily, feeling much better than before.

"U-um, excuse m-me, ninja-san?" He felt a timid voice call, and felt a tug on his uniform.

He looked down to see two big, bright emerald eyes. It was a young girl, probably about the age of four.

The first thing he noticed right off the bat was her unusually colored hair. It was a bubblegum pink, a color that shouldn't even be natural, and Kakashi was pretty sure a four year old couldn't dye her own hair or get permission to do so. Her hair was tied up with a tattered red ribbon, making her look rather cute.

She wore a dirty red dress, with mud splotched near the bottom hem and the edges of the dress frayed and worn. The dress certainly looked like it had seen better days.

And frankly, the girl did too. She had a filthy face smeared with soot, and her feet were bare and covered with mud. An orphan, from the looks of it.

Her petite figure was shaking, and Kakashi could see her rib age through her dress. _Just how long had it been since she had last eaten...?_

Twisting her hands together, she nervously said, "W-would you mind walking m-me home tonight, n-ninja-san? I'm lost a-and my brothers must b-be worried sick..." Her voice trailed off timidly.

Kakashi felt pity for the girl. No one else was in sight, and from the way she said home it sounded like somewhere on the streets. He gave her one of his famous eye-smiles. "Sure thing, kid. Where is your house near?"

"It's c-close to the Inuzuka compound, b-but it's so dark I c-can't see where t-to go-" She was cut off by Kakashi grabbing her hand. "W-what are you d-doing?"

Kakashi merely smirked. "Hold on tight." Using a seal-less transportation jutsu, with a whirl of leaves they could see the glowing lights of the Inuzuka compound, along with the barking of the Inuzuka hounds and the clan head, Tsume, screaming at her children. So, all in all, a typical night there.

The girl gasped. "Wha...h-how did you d-do that?"

Kakashi gave her another eye-smile. "That's a secret. Oh, what's your name kid?"

She mumbled something under her breath. "What?"

"Sakura" she breathed.

He smiled and ruffled Sakura's hair. "That's a fitting name for ya, Pinky."

She giggled cutely in the way only four year old girls can pull off.

Looking around, the Copy-nin asked, "Hey Pinky, where's your home from here?"

She examined her surroundings, and pointe towards an alleyway. "O-over there, I think."

Taking his hand with a visible bit of confidence, she tugged on his arm. "W-would you like to see our h-home?" She blushed. "I-it's not very pretty, s-so if you don't w-want to I understand..."

"Sure Pinky, just lead the way." He shrugged.

Sakura seemed to brighten with just that simple sentence. "O-ok."

She lead him down an alleyway and right into another, twisting and turning down more and more. Kakashi was sure they were lost until finally, they reached a dead end with a large cardboard box. There was no one in sight, the cracked grey walls with random metal bars sticking out of them and the slight light from the moon gave it an altogether eerie feel. Kakashi had been to the Inuzuka compound many times, but this was his first time ever being in this area. He supposed this was why Sakura had chosen to stay near here. "H-here we are..." She told him softly.

Kakashi felt his heart clench a little. "The _box_ is your house?" He almost shouted in disbelief.

Her eyes widened in surprise out his outburst, until realization dawned on her and she let loose a cute little giggle. "Oh, n-no, Mr. Ninja, that's just how we g-get to our house. It's k-kinda our...step stool, I suppose."

Sakura jumped onto the box, which groaned under her slight weight but held fast, and from there to a ledge Kakashi hadn't noticed before. It was well camouflaged and was about one by two feet. She then grabbed a metal rod stuck into the wall in a U shape, and gracefully hoisted herself up onto a small balcony. The balcony had rusty iron bars surrounding it except for a single part, and was bent into place.

Kakashi had to admire the agility and grace this young girl had. _She would be a fine kunoichi...but if she's an orphan, it's unlikely she'll be accepted into the Academy._

Sakura pushed aside a large sheet of rusted metal, which he assumed was their makeshift door, and poked her head inside. She called out softly, "Naruto-nii, Sasuke-nii, I'm back."

It seemed like the words had barely left Sakura's mouth before two blurs tackled the younger girl. "Imouto! Where have you been!? Me 'n aniki were worried sick!" The first one cried. It was a young boy, about Sakura's age. He had spiky blonde hair that stuck up in all directions, but that was about all Kakashi could see at the time. He wore a ragged orange jumpsuit that was in about as bad condition as Sakura's dress, except with a few extra tears here and there. Like Sakura, he had no shoes. "Man, don't go scarin' us like that again, you hear, Kura-chan?"

"Yeah, 'Kura, what happened? Are you hurt?" The second boy demanded. Like the others, he seemed to be about 4, though he seemed to be the oldest of the trio. He had spiky black hair, and was currently checking the girl's arms for injuries. He wore a turn blue shirt and black shorts, and like the other two, was barefoot.

Kakashi had to wonder: what was with the boys and their spiky hair?

Sakura smiled. "S-sorry to worry you, Aniki, I'm alright though. I got lost while foraging, but -"

The blonde interrupted by screaming. "Ahhhhhh! Someone's here!" He yelled, pointing at Kakashi. Kakashi could finally get a good view of his features. He had clear cerulean eyes and three strange whisker markings on each of his cheeks - Scars? Birthmarks? Tatoos? But now that he was facing Kakashi, the man realized he was a _carbon copy of the Fourth Hokage. _

The second boy (he didn't know if it was Naruto or Sasuke) turned around and his onyx eyes hardened. "Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked coldly. The boy then turned towards the blonde and signaled something with his hand. It must've been some kind of secret language, because immediately the blonde boy disappeared, taking Sakura with him.

The blonde boy returned in an instant, holding something in his hands. A piece of pape- OH CRAP.

An explosive tag.

Where the _hell_ did these kids get an explosive tag?

He realized he had to stop this before this got out out of hand. Kakashi held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. I just came to make sure Sakura got home safe."

The black haired boy's eyes narrowed. "How do you know our sister?" He inquired suspiciously.

Kakashi shrugged. "She was lost, so I offered to bring her home. She _did_ mention two brothers...that's you guys, right?"

The Minato-lookalike still looked wary. "So you know Sakura, huh? Well then, what color are her shoes?"

Kakashi blinked in surprise. "She wasn't wearing any."

The boy out down the tag. "Ok, old man, I believe you for now, but if Sakura says she doesn't know you I won't hold back, dattebayo!" _'Believe it'? And old man, really?_

He disappeared again, and returned with the pinkette. "Imouto, do you know this guy?"

Sakura nodded. "H-he was the one who helped me get back home."

The blonde immediately brightened. "Well then, ojiisan, sorry about that, dattebayo! Since you helped Kura-chan, we should be thanking you!" He offered him a grin.

Kakashi's visible eyebrow twitched in irritation. "I'm NOT an old man!"

The black haired one grunted. "Thanks for bringing her back." _Not the friendly type, is he? Reminds me of myself when I was kid...and that's NOT a good thing._

Sakura bowed to the silver-haired man. "Arigato, ninja-san!" Awkward silence followed.

Kakashi scratched his head. "So...what are you guys' names?"

"Naruto's the name, dattebayo!" The blonde chirped. _Jeez, how many time does he say 'dattebayo'?!_

"Sasuke." The black haired one muttered. He turned to his "Imouto" and asked, "Did you find anything to eat?"

The pinkette shook her head sadly. Sasuke's shoulders slumped. "B-but I did get you guys some stuff!" Naruto's eyes lit up like fireworks.

First, she walked over to Naruto. "Check this out!" She held out two kunai. "These are n-ninja knives, I think. One for you and one for Sasuke." She dropped one into each of their outstretched hands.

Naruto looked ecstatic. "This is awesome, Kura-chan! Thanks so much!"

For once, Sasuke smiled. "Thanks Sakura." He said with gratitude in his voice. _Wow, these kids really care for one another... _Kakashi smiled sadly. _They remind me so much of my old team..._

Naruto looked at Sakura with confusion. "Wait, Kura-chan, what'd you get yourself?"

"Oh!" She giggled. "Check this out!" She pulled out a scroll.

Naruto gave her a deadpan look. "Well...what does it do?"

Sasuke smacked the blonde on the head. Lightly, of course. "It's a summoning scroll, dummy. Look at the seals." He pointed to the black circles of intricate writing etched into the paper. _Why the heck did someone throw away a summoning scroll!?_

She pointed to the seals. "From what I know, this is a scroll for medical supplies. S-so if anyone gets injured we have a way to treat it this time..." She trailed off, the implied meaning obvious.

Naruto shuddered. "_Pleeeaaase_ don't remind me of that." He shuddered. "That was _beyond _nasty."

Both Sakura and Sasuke nodded furiously.

Kakashi opened his mouth to ask, but closed it again with the thought that he really didn't _want_ to know.

Suddenly, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke's stomachs growled in unison. Sakura and Naruto blushed, while the only clue Sasuke was embarrassed was the redness of his ears.

Kakashi didn't know whether to laugh about their in-synch stomach growl or be horribly saddened by the fact that these kids were _starving_. Possibly starving their entire lives. _I may be a cold shinobi, but I will NOT leave three kids starving on the streets. Besides, if Minato-sensei saw me do that, he'd eternally damn me for sure, my sensei or not._

"Why don't you guys come over to my place for some food?" He asked casually.

The three kids' eyes widened in disbelief.

"Oh my gosh thanks so much ojiisan you are the nicest person I've ever met and now I'll be able to finally eat some good food that isn't from the dump - that stuff tastes nasty anyways - and imouto and aniki can have lots of food too and OH MY GOSH I'M SO HAPPY!" The boy clung to Kakashi's leg, stars in his eyes as he grinned in awe, and the ninja in question sweat-dropped.

Sakura had a face-splitting grin, and even Sasuke had a big smile on his face.

"Well alright then. Hold hands kiddos." He held out both hands.

He could hear Sakura whispering to her brothers, "Do it. He did this w-weird teleport thing with me." and with that, the three kids, hand in hand, came into a full circle, Sakura in between Naruto and Sasuke.

And with leaves swirling as the jutsu took place, Kakashi couldn't help but think these kids were special.

They seemed...different.

There was something unique, powerful, _strange_ about them.

Just like that feeling he got from the precious people that were in his life - Minato, Rin, Obito...

They were special.

And with that thought, Kakashi made a resolution to himself.

_These kids won't live on the streets and be neglected anymore. I'll make sure of it._

**And that's the first chapter. I really love Team 7 bonding, so I threw in some sibling love here and there. If you catch any mistakes with the Japanese terms please tell me, and I'll be happy to correct it. I did my best to keep it accurate, but if I made any mistakes I mean no offense.**

**_Next up: bonding, their stories, and a LOT of munching._**

**Thanks for reading! Review!**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoa. I seriously didn't expect this story to get so popular so fast! 10 reviews, 20 favorites and 42 followers! Thank you all! :) So happy that I basically half-killed myself getting this chapter out ASAP. You awesome peeps deserve it! Here we go: the next chapter!**

**Edit 4/30/14 - shortened the amount of backstory they share so it's more believable, added some more depth for Kakashi's meeting with the Hokage, and other small changes.**

As Kakashi stared at the dining table of his apartment, he was silently berating himself for inviting these kids over for dinner.

They ate like _monsters_ for Kami's sake!

Every. Last. Bowl. On. Kakashi's. Table. Was. Empty.

And Kakashi thought Gai ate a lot...

As soon as the trio had stepped into Kakashi's (admittingly not exquisite) apartment, they rushed from corner to corner, ogling at everything, from the couch to the walls to the bookshelf (Kakashi had firmly told them not to look, after all, they were a bit..._young_ for his reading material), heck, even the toilet, which led Kakashi to wonder where exactly they did their, ahem, _business_. He later realized he didn't really want to know.

Kakashi could honestly say they treated his home as a person would treat a five-star hotel - staring admiringly at everything since you knew you had to leave very soon.

He finally decided the kids could use some entertainment, so he left them with a pad of drawing paper and some crayons (No, they were NOT his. Absolutely not.) for them to enjoy for a bit while Kakashi prepared dinner for the four of them.

* * *

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were staring at the pristine white paper in awe. It sat perfectly in the center of the coffee table, just waiting to draw on. (The only paper they got was in the trash, after all)

"It's...it's so _clean_! Should I...draw on it?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Naruto nudged Sasuke, who sent him a fierce glare in return. "Of course, Kura-chan! Didn't...what's his name again?"

Sakura flushed. "I...I don't really know. I don't think he told me." She looked around. "And I don't know where he went..."

The blonde merely shrugged. "Well, ojiisan gave it to us and said we could draw on it, right? So it should be ok!"

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "What are you going to draw?"

"I was thinking...that I could draw the three of us, since that's what's most important to me..." Sakura said softly.

Both boys gave her a genuine smile, or in Naruto's case, a blinding grin. "Awww...we love you too, Kura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed (loudly) and wrapped her in a bear hug that would crush any normal human being. But as we know already, Team 7 is quite far from normal...

The pinkette smiled happily through the hug would kill any lesser being, and turned to her siblings. "You guys _are_ gonna help me, right?" she asked sweetly as Naruto released her from his death grip.

Their answering grins were response enough.

And with that, the three children opened the box of crayons and began their relentless attack.

Unknown to the three, a particular silver-haired man was listening the entire time with a smile on his masked face.

* * *

"...you guys are gonna help me, right?" Kakashi couldn't help but grin at how utterly cute they were together. You could see Sakura gaining a lot of courage with her boys with her, Naruto had someone to calm his crazy antics and keep him under control, and Sasuke had people to rely on and open up to. It was a good combination, with each other's strengths and weaknesses balancing each other out.

Oh Kami, he was thinking about them as a genin team! If anything, they were more of a family.

Yeah, it made sense...

Well, they probably grew up with one another, with the whole 'imouto' and 'aniki' thing, so I suppose that they must be really close...' Kakashi mused.

Kakashi could just _see_ them as a genin team. Naruto, the blonde, seemed to be the unnaturally hyper one, also the one, Kakashi noticed, that had the most chakra. He actually had an astounding amout, almost to that of a jinchuriki.

Sasuke, the reserved and calm one, seemed to be the leader, and also the oldest. He also seemed unnaturally stoic for his age.

Kakashi gave a dry laugh as he prepared some cut vegetables for tempura. He was so similar to young Kakashi it was scary...

And finally, the girl, Sakura, was a very quiet, more analytical and smart than the boys, and also the one who got doted on the most by the other two.

Placing four bowls of rice on the dinner table, along with katsu and onigiri, and some fresh vegetables and fruits, he decided to...ahem, _check in_ on the trio. (Read: spy on)

What he found was probably the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. Kakashi wasn't one for fawning, but all he wanted to do is wrap them in a hug and never let go.

The three children were draped next to one another on the couch (how did they fall asleep so fast!?), their younger sister in the middle and the brothers on either side. Naruto was snoring softly, and Sasuke looked slightly fidgety, as he was twitching in his sleep.

On the table was a single paper. It was a crude crayon drawing of the three of them together on a grassy field, complete with Naruto and Sasuke's spiky hair and Sakura's neon locks. The three kids were smiling crudely, pictured in black crayon, though they knew Sasuke well enough to only make it a half-smile for him.

Kakashi grinned. He shook the loudest one - the blonde. "Hey, Naruto, get up."

Immediately, the blonde sprung up, uncurling a knife from inside his obnoxious jumpsuit and shouted, "Who's there?!" and once again astounding (and deafening) Kakashi with his sheer volume.

Jeez, he was going to go deaf by the time this was over...

Kakashi held up his hands. "Hey, it's just me." He said in surrender.

Naruto put the knife away and scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh, sorry ojiisan, just instinct, ya know?"

_Instinct? Man, he would make one hell of a shinobi, they all would!_

Kakashi then felt a twitch in his eye as he remembered how he was addressed. "You little brat, I'M NOT A GRANDPA!"

By now, the other two had awakened and were watching in a mix of amusement and slight alarm.

"Um...excuse me, ninja-san, but what's your name?" Sakura asked curiously.

The man eye-smiled. "I'm Kakashi, kiddo."

The young girl looked at him with doe-eyes. "Kakashi-san, can we have some food now?" She asked pleadingly.

Kakashi laughed. "Alright then, c'mere kids. Dinner's ready."

Three blurs (oddly enough, one pink, one yellow, and one black) raced past Kakashi and immediately settled into the chairs.

Sakura, knowing her boys, gave them a stern look, and their fidgeting hands stopped inching towards the bowls. Though Sakura herself wasn't much better, and was staring at the bowls hungrily.

Kakashi soon joined them, and nodded to them. And they took off.

The three of them, as though it was a race, immediately snatched the bowls and started spooning food into their greedy mouths. At least Sakura and Sasuke had the dignity to use their utensils properly...

Naruto was a whole other story. He began simply putting whatever he could into his bowl and literally dumping into his mouth.

Kakashi watched the entire scene with a sense of morbid fascination, similar to how one watches a car crash about to happen. It's horrible and gruesome, but you can't look away.

And faster than Kakashi, with all his ANBU skill, could comprehend, three pairs of pleading eyes were pointed his way, with a synchronized chirp of, "More please?"

Kakashi felt his knees slightly give way and thanked Kami he was sitting down. "Um...that's it on dinner...but if you want desert..."

Pointing to his fridge weakly, he told them to get the teapot and dango, and they could talk a bit about each other. Or as everyone else oh-so-fondly called it: interrogation.

Stumbling into a sofa chair, Kakashi tried to think about happy things, anything but the gaping hole in his wallet these kids were going to leave.

A dango stick in each hand, Naruto speeded over to the living room and was asked to start first. "But ojiisan, what about you? We don't know nothing about who you are or what you do or-"

"_Enough_, Naruto." Sasuke cut off.

Kakashi sighed. "All right, you brat. My name's Hatake Kakashi, I'm a jounin ninja," 'As of now,' he mumbled under his breath, "And I like reading, training, and going on missions."

Sakura clapped excitedly. "That's so cool!" She squealed. "A jounin!"

Sasuke smiled at his younger sister. "Yeah, he's a ninja. Father told be about them before..." His expression darkened.

The other two kids seemingly understood. Naruto reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Kakashi looked at them in confusion. "Well, since I know nothing about you guys except your names, how about you tell me what your favorite things are, your age, and a little about your pasts." Kakashi hoped they trusted him enough to give him some background.

Sakura and Naruto turned to their leader. "Should we?"

Sasuke grunted. "If he wanted to hurt us, he'd have done it a lot sooner. I think it's safe."

The blonde grinned. "Alright! I'm Naruto, dattebayo! I'm six!" Huh, a little older than he thought. "I like ramen when I can get some, Sakura and Sasuke, oh, and practicing with ninja weapons we find! And my past...I dunno, actually. I grew up in the orphanage, but there were so many kids there I wasn't really noticed, and due to..." He laughed sheepishly, "_Unfortunate circumstances_, I got kicked out and lived on the streets for...errr...

Sasuke grudgingly agreed. "I'm surprised you know the words 'unfortunate' and circumstance' dobe."

"TEME!"

Sakura sighed. "You two...but really, they're pretty close." She told Kakashi.

Naruto beamed. "Yeah, we're awesome, dattebayo!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Ok, Sasuke, you're up next."

Sasuke grunted. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha," Kakashi felt his eyes widen. What the _hell_ was an Uchiha kid doing out in the streets!? "but I refuse to go by that name anymore. I'm almost seven. I don't like many things, but those things include tomatoes, training, and my siblings. I, as you probably guessed, was exiled from the Uchiha clan by my father, saying I wasn't worthy. But I don't know why." Kakashi winced. Kicked out of your own clan...

Kakashi realized the boy wasn't going to keep talking, in favor of crossing his arms and glaring at the totally innocent walls.

Naruto winced. "You gotta cut Sasuke some slack, oji-san. He's not...a big fan of the topic..."

Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Alright, Pinky, you're up!"

Sakura smiled softly but nervously. "I'm Haruno Sakura, but I don't go by my last name anymore, like Sasuke. I'm six like Naruto. I like learning, my brothers, and dango starting today," She earned a chuckle from the silver-haired man, "and I've been living on my own for about a year and a half now. My parents disowned me because of my pink hair," she held up a lock with her fingers, "I was always the odd one out, and people would oick on me horribly for it...eventually my parents couldn't take it anymore and they left me out in the streets." She wiped a stray tear away and smiled at her brothers. "That's when Naruto-nii and Sasuke-nii found me."

Kakashi winced in sympathy.

Naruto wrapped his sibling up in another tight hug. "Yup, she's like our little sis now!" He shouted.

Sasuke groaned. "Stop being obnoxious, dobe."

Naruto pouted at the boy's words, but turned to Kakashi. "Psst, old man, I know Sasuke seems like a total jerk right now, but he's actually just bitter about his family," he smirked. "He's a total softie once you get to know him, 'ttebayo!" He whisper-shouted.

Kakashi shook his head. This team was so much alike Team Minato it was scary.

Naruto was Obito, obviously. They were loud, obnoxious, but also powerful and extremely hyper. Heck, they even have the same spiky hair and megawatt grin!

Sakura was Rin. They were both soft-spoken, gentle, and easy to get along with, not to mention both girls. The only thing Sakura was missing was Rin's temper when she got angry, but that would probably change as Sakura got older.

He gave a shudder. One angry Rin was bad enough, but _two_...

And finally, Sasuke. They were stoic, quiet, dangerous, and cold to anyone outside their little circle of trust. Plus, they both have (or will have, in Sasuke's case) the Sharingan. Though the three of them didn't need to know that...

"...Kakashi-san? Kakashi-san, you ok?" Sakura's concerned voice broke him out of his ponderings.

Kakashi nodded sheepishly, rubbing his head. Suddenly, an idea struck him like a bowling ball. The gears in his head turned like mad. It took all of his willpower not to smirk evilly. "Sorry about that, just thinking about how you three are so alike my genin team it's kinda frightening..." He replied nonchalantly.

Naruto gave him a confused look. "Geneen? What's that?"

Kakashi smacked his forehead comically. Sasuke found the time appropriate to intervene. "_Genin_ is a rank of shinobi, or ninja. It's the first rank, right out of the ninja school." He looked at Kakashi for confirmation.

Kakashi nodded, giving Sasuke an impressed look. "Very good. People that want to be ninja first enter the academy at age 6-7, and train until they are deemed worthy to become genin. The average age is around 12." Kakashi felt no need to tell them he graduated at age 8. "As a matter of fact, this year's semester is starting in..." He mentally waited until he deemed it a believable pause. "4 months, to be exact."

"I want to join."

Three curious glances were thrown towards the Uchiha. Kakashi himself was inwardly smirking. Just what he hoped for - interest in the Academy. But in order to do that...

"I'm sure you'd be great in the Academy, but you've got a small problem..." Kakashi winced outwardly, inwardly praying this would work.

Sasuke turned his started glance to Kakashi. "What?" He questioned (demanded).

Kakashi sighed. "You need to have someone pay the entry fee."

Shouts of indignation rose through the group. "-What!? But we can't-" "-It's not fair! Now I'll never be a ninja, ojjisan-" "-What!? But how are we supposed to-"

Kakashi held up his hands. "Whoa. Let me finish. As I was _saying_, you need to pay for the admission. Now, normally, I would pay for your admission," the three kids beamed, "_But_ I have to officially be your guardian."

Sakura blinked. "So basically...if Sasuke wants to be a genin, he needs to be adopted by you?"

"In a sense, yes. There'd be some paperwork and meeting with the Hokage and all that, but...pretty much, I'd become a guardian to you Sasuke." Kakashi noted the contemplative look on Sasuke's face.

"I'll do it..." Both his siblings were astounded, Naruto with his mouth hanging open, but Kakashi was inwardly cackling. _And when there's one..._"But under one condition." He said gruffly. "I want you to adopt my siblings and enter them in the Academy too."_ ...Others follow. _Kakashi grinned in victory and nodded.

If Sakura and Naruto looked dumbstruck before, their very minds exploded now. "OH MY GOD YOU MEAN WE GET TO GO TO NINJA SCHOOL AND EAT FOOD AND BUY STUFF AND HAVE A HOUSE AND SLEEP IN A BED AND DO ALL SORTS OF AWESOME STUFF THAT WE NEVER GOT TO DO BEFORE?! OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED! SASUKE-TEME YOU'RE AWESOME!" Screamed Naruto as he started jumping around Kakashi's apartment like a hyper bunny rabbit.

Sakura, on the other hand, started to cry. She jumped into Sasuke's lap and started sobbing into his chest, while sobbing continuous 'thank you's' to a very overwhelmed Uchiha.

Kakashi was actually surprised that his soon-to-be students were this enthusiastic. He was contemplating this further when a bright yellow blob blocked all his vision and he suddenly found he couldn't breathe.

"Nrto gerrof m bfor I dy o lauk o arr!" Kakashi tried to scream. (Translation: Naruto get off me before I die of lack of air!)

The sobbing pinkette finally recovered from her crying fit to see a blue-faced Kakashi in the grips of a Naruto. She nudged her brother. "Sasuke! Help Kakashi-san!"

Sasuke complied. THUNK!

"Oww!" whined the yellow-haired boy, rubbing the growing lump on his head ruefully. "What was that for?"

Sasuke and Sakura instantly facepalmed. "He's hopeless." They said in unison.

* * *

The Hokage was seriously freaking out.

Here was Kakashi. _Kakashi_. _**Hatake Kakashi**_. Asking to become the guardian of these three random orphans.

Unbelievable.

Sarutobi rubbed his eyes a couple times and looked back up - and sure enough, the four people were still standing there.

Three cute little kids and one out-of-character/imposter former ANBU, staring at him strangely.

So it wasn't a dream.

Damn it. That meant it was the apocalypse.

Clearing his throat and trying to salvage what little bit of Hokage-ness he had left, he spoke. "So...Kakashi, you wish for these three to become your charges and enter them in the Academy?"

Kakashi gave an affirmative nod. "Yes, Hokage-sama, I will to officially become their guardian and enter them in the Academy this year."

Sarutobi had to admit, the kids were adorable. They had giant, pleading eyes staring at him the entire time, begging him to agree. And, Sarutobi hated to admit it, it was working.

Kids. They're evil. Pure evil.

Sarutobi went over each of their files, unsatisfied with the almost non-existent information.

Name: ? Naruto (Surname Unknown)

Gender: Male

Birthday: Unknown

Parents: Unknown

Classification: Unknown

Extra Notes:

Name: Haruno Sakura

Gender: Female

Birthday: March 28

Parents: Haruno Shiji and Haruno Himeko

Classification: Unknown

Extra Notes:

Name: Uchiha Sasuke

Gender: Male

Birthday: July 23

Parents: Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto

Classification: Unknown

Extra Notes:

"So Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura agree?" Sarutobi asked again.

The three little children nodded excitedly.

The Sandaime Hokage sighed. "I can offer you certain parts of this negotiation, but there is one part even I have no power over." Kakashi and the children looked at him with confusion and apprehension. "I cannot officially make you their father, since they have neither their parents consent nor do they even know their parents anymore, so instead I will make you their official protector and guardian. Care for them like they're your own, Kakashi." Sarutobi smiled.

"YES!" The three kids screamed in unison. They jumped up and brought everyone, Kakashi and Sarutobi included, into a group hug.

"Ahem. Well, thank you, children, but I'd like to have a word with Kakashi. Is that alright?" Sarutobi gasped from lack of air. Man, the blonde could hug tightly!

Kakashi, also looking a bit blue, nodded to the three, and they ran playfully from his office out into the hallway.

Sarutobi straightened his robes and sat back down, Kakashi doing the same. "Now, if you don't mind me prying, Kakashi, I simply want to ask you a couple questions." He paused. "And for you to sign the papers."

The ninja nodded, taking a seat once again and began scanning the documents.

"Anyways, Kakashi, I wish to ask you something?"

Kakashi stared at him. "About what, Hokage-sama?"

"Your motives." He said simply.

"Ah." Kakashi looked, for once, a bit sheepish. "My reasons for adopting, correct?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Even you must agree, suddenly having a soft spot for three random young kids. They're sweet, yes, but it's very...unlike you."

There was the longest pause as Kakashi pondered the question. "...To be perfectly honest, Hokage-sama, I really don't know. It's just..."

"They..." He sighed. "They remind me horribly of my old team. Obito, Rin...me," he said softly. "Our personalities are all there. And...I failed my team. This is almost like...like a second chance." He nodded towards the outside door, where the three kids were blabbering in excited voices.

The Hokage's eyes softened considerably. "I admire your motives, Kakashi, and you also will be helping their futures as well as your own."

Kakashi stared down at his lap. "I also have another reason..."

The Hokage looked at him in surprise. "What is it?"

Kakashi frowned. "...Minato-sensei. And Kushina-chan. They'd...they'd want me to do this. I can imagine Kushina shouting at me 'You heartless fiend! Abandoning children in need is cruel, dattebane!'" The Sandime laughed. "I should do this to...honor them."

"And the blonde boy...he looks so much of the Yondaime it's painful." He laughed sadly. "Plus, he has Kushina's temperament..."

The Hokage's mind was whirling. _Could it be..._

"Thank you for your time, Kakashi, you're dismissed." Sarutobi told him.

As soon as Kakashi shushined away, the Sandaime glanced towards the stone image of the former Hokage. The still stone face betrayed nothing of the infamous Yellow Flash's intentions. _Minato...what are you hiding from me? Is this...the child that died in the Kyuubi attack?_

* * *

"All right, my little soon-to-be students, since you're entering the Academy in about 16 weeks, it's up to me to prepare you for anything you could face."

The three looked up to him excitedly. "All right! With your help we'll graduate in a flash, dattebayo!" Take a wild guess on who said that...

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm about to warn you. This is going to be the toughest 16 weeks of your lives. I don't want any complaining, since you chose this. You got it?"

"Hai, Kakashi-san!"

"From now on, it's Kakashi-_sensei_ to you."

"Hai!"

**Whew! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it! **

**Just to make a few things clear about the storyline: in this AU, the Uchiha Massacre hasn't happened yet, since that's after Sasuke turns 7, so the Uchiha's are still alive. I repeat, _yet_. I may or may not add it in ;) Also, the reason Sarutobi doesn't know about Naruto being Minato's son and the jinchuriki is the simple fact that during that day, after Minato and Kushina sealed the Kyuubi away and died, the Sandaime didn't find Naruto. Instead, a couple days maybe after the attack, some random person found Naruto, deemed him one of the orphans left behind from the attack, and sent him to the orphanage.**

**Now for a little poll: Who do you want to drop in and help the soon-to-be Team Seven with their training? You can pick one or two of the following:**

**Gai**

**Kurenai**

**Asuma**

**Anko**

**Shisui (read above)**

**Gemna**

**Itachi (read above)**

**Anyone else you wanna pick - just make sure they're chuunin or higher and have a Narutopedia page so I can get some info on them xD**

**Just review and tell me your pick (and maybe some feedback on this chapter, hint hint xD) and I will keep count! Your votes may or may not change the outcome of the story :)**

**_Next up: Training, training, and more training. And some crazy teachers._**

**R&amp;R!**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	3. Chapter 3

**Holy crap. Thanks so much to all my reviewers, followers and favoriters! (If the last one is a word...) You guys are AWESOME! 84 followers, 51 favorites and 29 reviews, and officially +1500 hits! In two chapters! Oh my god. I'm just gonna go over to a corner and have a heart attack. **

**And one more thing before I begin. The votes are in! The top two people will be featured in either this chapter or the next one...**

**And by the way - I'm not telling who won and who didn't until...eh, maybe a couple chapters when I finally get around to writing them in, so be on the lookout for the characters mentioned for voting last chapter! ;)**

**On to chapter 3! ^^**

Kakashi had to admit - for a trio of uneducated orphans, they had pretty damn good reflexes and battle smarts.

It was day 1 of their new training regime and Kakashi had begun the day with a huge breakfast and some fun quizzes. Yes, he said fun. Well, at least Sakura enjoyed them...oh who was he kidding. If he was the one taking those tests, he'd either murder his teacher or commit suicide by now.

And it wasn't just written tests. He tested them in stamina, speed, strength, reflexes, brains, and everything in between. Afterwards, he reviewed everything they didn't know and drilled it into their little heads, including history, current shinobi, status, the Hokage, and basically gave them a crash course on ninja-ness history.

Kakashi was sure he was going to be killed in his sleep tonight, of the glares sent his way after was anything to go by.

Yup, judging from the Uchiha's glower, he'd have to sleep with a kunai in his hand tonight.

Once the tests were over, and the kids got a well-needed lunch break (where they once again cleaned out his kitchen), Kakashi had to say he was pleased by the results.

Sure, the didn't know specific terms like "kunai", "shuriken" or "senbon" ("Koonay, sureekin, and sambon? What kind of names are those!?" exclaimed Naruto), they still had a basic knowledge about dodging, using knives and weapons, and were all pretty fit for their age. Kakashi summed it up to living on the streets their entire lives.

Obviously, wanting to see what they're capable of, Kakashi decided to give them another little test.

"Alright, my little minions, to test your skills, I want you to each pick out some weapons and come at me with all you got. Ok?" 'Minions' was the endearing term he used for the past two hours he had taught them about...well, pretty much everything they'd learn at the Academy...hey, who said they couldn't start a bit early?

After about an hour of continuous name-calling, courtesy of their new sensei, the trio had decided it was better to just let him get away with it, as their complaining did nothing.

They had nodded, some groaningly (Naruto), some nervously (Sakura), and some...rather stoic-ly (Sasuke), and started raiding Kakashi's armory, which he had brought with him to Training Ground 19.

Kakashi didn't want them learning jutsus yet, but that would come soon, with the progress they were making.

Naruto, rather surprisingly, didn't grab any weapon at all. When questioned, he said that he needed nothing but his fists to "beat up an old man like you!" Kakashi had to roll his eyes at that.

Sasuke, also surprisingly, went for the for the katana set he had brought. They were jet black and in good condition, minus the scratches from the wear of a former-ANBU (the thought still brought a bitter taste to his mouth) using it at least twice a month. When Kakashi asked about his motives, he replied with a simple, "Hn."

Very informative.

And the girl, Sakura, had to be the most surprising of all. She went for a simple ninja knife in each hand, and donned a pair of black gloves. What they were for, Kakashi had no idea.

However, Kakashi was sure they all had picked out their weapons (or lack of one) for a reason, so he braced himself for anything.

"All right, ready..." The three tensed.

"_Begin_!"

With a rush, the three kids took off in different directions - Sakura simply jumped into the nearest tree (Honestly, nothing surprised him about these kids anymore), Sasuke circled the silver-haired man, wisely waiting for an opening, and Naruto simply charged at him with all his might, screaming an oh-so-scary...

"I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU!"

Kakashi didn't know whether to laugh or roll his eyes, so he did both.

Apparently that didn't sit well for the blonde ninja, because he narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Take _this_, old man!" He flung a fist (sloppy for a ninja, but definitely better than most 6-year olds) towards the silver haired-man.

Jumping to the right, Kakashi was surprised that Naruto knew how to punch with the correct form. Most genin took weeks to perfect their stance.

Granted, Kakashi still dodged his blows perfectly, but he was impressed all the same.

Chuckling softly, the man landed on his feet silently, looking around for the orange-clad ninja.

A flash of orange brought his attention to behind him-

"Take this! Hiyaaaaaa!" Naruto yelled.

He stifled a laugh. An impressive kick, but it would be no use if it didn't connect...

Kakashi twisted in midair, turning into a roll and leaping back up again to avoid a follow-up hook to his head. _Not bad, not bad..._

The orange was a dead giveaway though. Note to self: get them a wardrobe change.

The silver-haired jounin caught another flash behind him, this time one of...pink?

Crap.

Knives glinting, Sakura swiped at his feet before nimbly rolling out of the way as Naruto threw six or seven senbon at Kakashi. Her former shyness was gone, replaced by a determined glint in her eyes as she analyzed his every move. Kakashi could almost hear the gears turning in her head. She was definitely-

_Whoa!_

Kakashi ducked, almost getting beheaded by a certain feisty Uchiha. _Great, now I'm getting triple-teamed!_

Hehehe.

Smiling slightly, the jounin reached for his hip pouch and fingered a couple of kunai. Now _this_ was getting interesting...

Suddenly, a pink blur raced in and out of his vision, and he felt the sting of a shallow cut on his cheek.

_How in the name of Kami did she go so fas-_

_Oh. **Ohhhh**._

Actually, he was asking the wrong question to himself. The real one is _how the hell can a six year old girl who's never been to the Academy know how to use chakra!? _

Kakashi was amazed and confused at the same time._ These kids didn't know what chakra was until about 2 hours ago! Much less utilize it as a speed boost! That kind of technique required immense chakra control, most genin and chunin couldn't even use chakra that well! Besides, who would have taught it to her? She certainly didn't get ninja training beforehand, since the Haruno's are a civillian clan from what the Hokage told him..._

He decided to keep his cool, and with a mask of indifference, he lept back into the fray.

Kakashi ducked again as another sword swipe made his eyes widen. These kids were good. _Really_ good.

But still...he was better.

With a quick fluid movement, he ducked under Naruto's roundhouse kick with a kunai twisted the boy's hand behind his back, making said boy's eyes widen. With the other, he spun around the blonde haired boy and sent him sprawling with a simple kick to the back - gently, of course. He didn't want to hurt them _too_ badly on their first day.

"Owww!" Naruto groaned, rubbing his behind.

Sakura took another swipe, this time at his back, but Kakashi sensed it and turned swiftly, and knocked her first knife out of reach, the second one following it's companion soon after. She narrowed her eyes and threw at punch at him, and wanting to judge the amount of power she put in, he let it connect.

POW!

He was officially regretting that decision. Kakashi hissed in pain as he rubbed the red mark on his cheek, the same one with the shallow cut none the less.

Yup, big mistake to let a chakra-enhanced punch hit him, even one by a six-year-old. _Big_ mistake.

Kakashi didn't even bother wondering how she managed to copy Tsunade's style perfectly.

Sakura herself seemed surprised before smirking, holding up her fist to examine it. Which was _her_ mistake. Kakashi grabbed her by the arm and sent her tumbling into an already down Naruto, and two were out.

ZING! A sword swipe came dangerously close to his shoulder. Kakashi cursed, forgetting the current swordsman of the team (not to mention an Uchiha) was a big mistake.

With a burst of speed, Kakashi circulated chakra by his feet and zoomed towards the dark haired boy, and was received with a punch to the gut, but the former-ANBU paid it no mind. One well-aimed punch from him and it was all over.

The three kids lay panting in a heap, exhausted but happy nonetheless.

"So...Kakashi-sensei...how did we...do?" Naruto managed to ask.

"Pretty good, kids." Kakashi wiped his brow. "I'm impressed, and I got a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses." He pointed to the blonde first. "Naruto, you used taijutsu pretty well for your age. I mean this in just curious way but...how did you aim that well?"

Naruto blinked. "Oh...I don't know, I just followed your movements with my eyes and took a wild guess at where you'd be next." He shrugged.

Kakashi raised an impressed eyebrow. _Good reflexes, even though a bit...cocky. And hyper. And...excitable._

He shook his head good-naturedly. "Well, excellent job. You did well with improvisation and thinking on the spot, good qualities to have in the field. Another thing I noticed was how incredibly large your chakra reserves are. That opens a great variety of jutsu to you."

Naruto beamed.

Next, he turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you have excellent sword skills for your age, so I think it'd be a good idea to teach you short-range attacks and increase your sword skills." Silence greeted his words.

Finally, it was the girl's turn. "Sakura, I'm impressed with your chakra control, since it normally takes years to develop that well. I'd suggest studying Tsunade-hime's style of fighting, which was very similar to what you were doing, and maybe get you into medical ninjutsu."

All three soon-to-be genin smiled, or smirked in Sasuke's case, pleased with their results.

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura asked, all bravery from the fight long gone, "Do you think we could see what our elemental affinity is?"

Kakashi was surprised. "How do you know about elemental affinities?"

She merely shrugged. "Me, Naruto and I found a ninja book about the basics of chakra, elemental affinities and some stuff about legendary ninja. Y'know, Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru, Lord Hokage, Itachi Uchi-" She winced, obviously realizing it was bad to say the U-word in front of Sasuke. Said boy scowled. "Tons of famous ninja." She hurried on. "Including you, Kakashi-sensei."

Apparently this was news to the other two. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei's _famous_?" Naruto half-screamed, apparently mad about being kept in the dark.

The pinkette nodded. "He's Sharingan no Kakashi, the Copy-nin!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in comprehension. "Wait...you...have the Sharingan?"

Kakashi chuckled at the gobsmacked look on his face. "It's not my bloodline, if that's what you mean. I had a friend...a best friend of mine, who was an Uchiha." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "He was my teammate and best friend...but..." The three listened attentively. "A mission went wrong...very, _very_ wrong..." Kakashi cursed his soft heart at choking up. "And his dying wish was to give me his Sharingan, so I had it transplanted by my other teammate."

The trio gaped, all for different reasons.

"Wait - what the heck is a Sharing-gun?"

* * *

The Hokage was confused. Very confused. Very, very, very confused.

First, Kakashi is reckless - again. Surprise, surprise.

Then he leaves, and the next day asks to adopt a random trio of orphans he found on the streets. One of them who looks exactly like Namikaze Minato, the former Hokage, albeit a bit younger, and has his wife, Uzumaki Kushina's temperament.

What in the name of Kami _was freaking going on!? _

The Sandaime was quite sure Minato had a son. Minato himself had told him. But that son was never found, apparently dying in the Kyuubi attack along with his parents._  
_

But...what if...

Shaking his head, Sarutobi lit a cigarette and called in one of his ANBU officers with the flick of his wrist. The operative jumped down from their hidden place in the ceiling.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" Asked the ANBU in an emotionless voice.

"Crow, I want you to watch Naruto, one of Hatake Kakashi's new charges, very carefully. His two adoptive siblings also. Understood?"

The ANBU operative nodded. "Understood, Hokage-sama." He was about to leave when he turned back for an instant. "May I have the other two's names?"

Sarutobi nodded briskly. It would do Crow good to know this. "Yes. Their names are Haruno Sakura...and Uchiha Sasuke."

The ANBU's eyes widened instantly. "Sasuke? _Uchiha_ _Sasuke_?"

Sarutobi hid a grin. "Indeed."

The ANBU operative immediately departed, leaving a smug Hokage smoking his pipe. _Wait until Sasuke finds out... _

* * *

"...and so, that's basically why the Uchiha's are one of the strongest clans in the village." Kakashi finished his lengthy conversation with the three almost-genin.

"That's so cool Kaka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, waving his arms in a very chicken-like fashion. "It's no wonder that the Uchiha are all strong and cocky and stuff! Hey, Sasuke-teme, are you going to get the Sharing-gun when you-"

"_Sharingan_, Naruto." Kakashi corrected. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, back on the subject I was originally on, I think it'd be a good idea to see what elemental affinity you guys have, especially since that'll give you an advantage when doing elemental jutsus."

* * *

Unknown to anyone, even Kakashi, a certain black-haired ANBU was sitting in a tree not far from where they were. The ANBU was concealing his chakra perfectly and watching the four ninja with wide red eyes.

_Little brother..._

* * *

Kakashi held out four sheets of chakra paper. "This is a special kind of paper. It detects your elemental affinity. Now, you could go to the hospital and get an examination, but I find this way much easier." He held up a piece of the paper. "Just push some of your chakra into the paper, and based on the reaction, you'll be able to tell your elemental affinity."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully, processing the new information. Sasuke grunted, and Naruto simply laughed. "Yeah! I totally got this!...How do we push our chakra again?"

The three other people face palmed. Typical Naruto...

"Naruto...ok, think of it this way. Chakra is a sort of energy inside of you, your spiritual and physical energies. You need to close your eyes and concentrate on it. Imagine the energy, a small amount mind you, slowly pouring into the paper like a little trickle from a stream."

"Ok..." He said uncertainly.

Kakashi nodded. "However, you only need a tiny bit for the paper to react, so don't put too much..."

Naruto stepped forward cautiously. "Ok..." He reached out a hand towards his paper, then drew it back. "Umm...you go first!"

The copy-nin rolled his eye (the one that was visible, anyway) but consented nonetheless. Reaching out a hand, he channeled a tiny bit of chakra into the paper. Immediately, the paper crinkled.

The three kids gasped in surprise. "What the...how did it...you just..." Naruto stuttered.

Kakashi gave them an eye-smile. "See? The paper reacts to your chakra. My elemental affinity is lightning, so it crinkled up." He held up the shriveled paper.

"That's awesome! I wanna try!" The blonde screamed. He snatched a paper from Kakashi's hands (since we know Naruto is never one for waiting...) and closing his eyes in intensw concentration, pushed an absolute _overload_ of chakra into it.

Kakashi almost stumbled at the sheer amount of chakra Naruto put into it. _A real chakra powerhouse, this one..._

The paper, much to Kakashi's surprise, immediately sliced in half like it was cut open.

Naruto jumped back in surprise. "Whoa! Kakashi-sensei, what does it mean?"

Said ninja was examining the sliced paper. "You have a wind affinity...a very rare element, especially in Konohagakure."

The orange-clad ninja pumped his fist. "All right! Now I can learn all these cool jutsus and I'll be the strongest ninja in the village!"

Sasuke smacked his head. "Dobe. Let me and Kura have a chance."

Kakashi handed the other two paper, and both concentrated.

Immediately, Sasuke's paper crinkled and started disintegrating, while Sakura's drooped, like it was wet.

Kakashi nodded approvingly. "Sasuke, you have lightning and fire, a good combo, and Sakura, you have water, which is another practical element and also rare here. With the three of you together, you have a good variety of jutsu."

"Wait wait wait, why does Sasuke have two but me 'n Kura-chan only have one!?" Naruto complained (loudly).

Kakashi sighed. "Some people are born with two, others can develope it over time, or one close to an affinity. I don't have an affinity for fire, as an example, but I'm very good with fire jutsus."

Sakura nodded. "But our affinities just make it easier to do the jutsu, since we don't need as much chakra than others, right?"

"Right." Kakashi nodded. "You can still learn other elemental types, but some might be harder than others. It really depends on the person."

Sasuke, oddly, spoke up. "Kakashi-sensei...when will we be learning actual elemental jutsu?" It always amazed Kakashi how serious Sasuke was all the time.

"Well," Kakashi began, "Most normal kids learn elemental jutsu around age 12-13, so genin to chunin," their faces fell. "But," he continued, "You guys will probably learn them in...oh, maybe 2 weeks tops."

Sakura stared at him, green orbs wide. "We're...really that good?" She asked in amazement.

Naruto came up and slung an arm around her shoulders. "'Course we are, Kura-chan!"

"Hn." Sasuke agreed.

Kakashi clasped his hands together. "All right, I think that's enough training for today, my little minions." Rummaging through his pockets, he pulled out a scroll, no bigger than an Icha-Icha book (that remindedhim, he seriously needed to hide those books...") that he used for summoning. "I suppose it's time to clean up..."

He opened his summoning scroll and in a flash of light, the kunai and shuriken spread around the training area vanished.

"Whoa..." Naruto gaped.

Tucking the scroll away, he turned to feel a familiar tug on his uniform.

Sakura spoke up timidly. "Um...Kakashi-sensei...we've never really interacted with older people like you," Kakashi felt a sharp twitch in his eye. "So..." She twiddled her fingers.

"Yes Sakura?" Kakashi asked gently.

"...Will you play with me?" She blurted.

Kakashi blinked. Out of all the things he was expecting, that was most certainly _not_ it.

* * *

"This is so demeaning." Kakashi grumbled.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at Kakashi sympathetically. "Trust me, we know." Naruto groaned. "We've been doing this for two years and it doesn't get any better."

Sasuke nodded. "It's better to just let her have her way." He advised.

Kakashi fidgeted. He was a grown ninja, a former-ANBU, not a _playmate_ dammit!

Sakura cleared her throat. "Ok. Narrator, go!" She glared purposely at Naruto.

The blonde sighed. "Once upon a time, there lived a pretty princess in a castle." He said monotonously, moving the crude doll made of twigs, a soda can, and black marker labeled NARRATER.

Sakura giggled, pushing out her own doll, identical except for the bottle cap crown and the can crumpled in a dress-like shape. This one was labeled PRINSES.

"One day, the princess was walking in the woods when she heard a roar. It was a monster!" Naruto continued. "'Roar! I am the mighty dragon!' It said."

Sasuke pushed his doll, this time made of two sideways cans, and a cork as the head, labeled as DRAGGEN. "Roar." He said in his usual bored voice.

Kakashi would've laughed if he hadn't been forced into this too.

_How_ was he forced into this again?

_Flashback:_

_"You want me to what!?" Kakashi gaped._

_Sakura nodded cutely. "Please please please please pleeeeeease with a cherry on top?" She pleaded._

_Kakashi shook his head. "Sorry, Pinky, but I've got stuff to do." He really didn't but she didn't need to know what, did she?_

_Sakura stopped talking, and for a second Kakashi thought he'd won._

_Then, _it_ happened._

_Sakura's bright lime orbs started filling with tears and quivering pitifully. _

_Kakashi began to panic as his brain short-circuited. _

_Kakashi could deal with S-Class missing-nin, being surrounded by two dozen enemy ninja, interrogation of the worst kind, being drowned for 2 minutes, or even Mikoto's cooking (which tasted - for a lack of better words - like...well, he wouldn't say it, or Mikoto would just ask Itachi to Mangekyo his ass off...but it was awful. Obito had taken Kakashi, Rin, and Minato-sensei to the Uchiha Compound for dinner. They were all excused for a week afterwards due to sudden illness, oddly enough the next day.) _

_Crying girls?_

_...Not so much._

_Then again, what kind of respectable man __**was**__ good with dealing with crying girls?_

_With a heavy sigh, the silver-haired ninja admitted defeat. "Ok...I'll play with you."_

_Sakura's victorious smirk looked very out of place on her kind, innocent face. Kakashi was pretty sure the appropriate word here was 'whipped'. _

_Sasuke and Naruto began snickering._

_Then immediately afterwards, their snickers faded as SaKura turned to the other two boys. "You guys are playing, too, __**right**__?" She asked sweetly._

_Naruto and Sasuke had identical expressions of 'oh crap...'_

_Flashback End_

Kakashi's shoulders sagged. _That_ was how.

"...Kakashi-sensei! It's your turn!" Sakura shouted impatiently.

"Ok, ok..." Kakashi groaned. He moved his little "prince" (as the name suggests, titled PRINSE), complete with bottle cap crown, character next to the princess.

Naruto continued. "The prince and the princess were very happy, until one day - the dragon reappeared again!" Naruto's voice held no conviction whatsoever.

"Roar."

"It tied the prince up, saying 'You attacked me! I didn't get my dinner 'cause of you! I will kill you!' It prepared to roast him alive!"

"Roar."

"The brave princess didn't want to let him die, and suddenly took a katana and whoosh! She killed the beast in a single blow!"

"Ow."

"And so, the princess and the prince lived happily ever after, sinve they both saved each other's necks after all. The end."

Kakashi sweated in relief. "Oh, thank god. Sorry, kids, but I have to go."

Flipping through the hand seals lightning-fast, their teacher disappeared with a swirl of his signature leaves.

Sakura sighed. "Why was he in such a hurry? We haven't even started the next game yet!" She pouted.

Sasuke and Naruto gave each other a look. _Oh crap..._

**Whoo! Chapter three finished! Congrats to me for finishing most of this while supposedly doing "HW"... Whoops. Especially since this is 4000 words, my longest chappie so far ^^ Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, especially since I didn't want everyone to forget that these kids may be prodigies, but they're still kids, and what do kids love to do the most? Play, of course! :) And poor Kakashi gets thrown into it too. Hehehe ;(**

**Oh, and if you haven't figured out who the ANBU operative spying on the soon-to-be Team 7 is you don't deserve to be reading this fanfic lol xD**

**_Next up: Brothers, family issues, and revelation. And shopping. Lots of shopping._**

**R&amp;R!**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh my god. Oh my god. _Oh my freaking_ \- you guys are awesome. Seriously. I'm already at over 75 favorites and OVER 120 followers. 120. _ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY_. OH MY GOD. I'm the happiest author alive right now :) **

**And I'm already at 50 reviews in THEEE CHAPTERS, which is INSANE...have I said I love you guys? 'Cause I do! (In a totally platonic and non-creepy way, mind you) My goal for this story is 100 reviews, and I'm already halfway there! O.O**

**Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful support, you guys are encouraging me to forget homework and write this story for you guys - not sure if my parents will view that as a good thing but WHO CARES?!**

**But seriously, I feel like I don't deserve this at all...you guys are amazing. Absolutely amazing. Way too amazing for this lowly author. Seriously. **

**On to chapter four!**

If there was one thing Kakashi hated more than actually doing work, it was shopping.

_Shopping_.

He was a shinobi, a former-ANBU for Kami's sake! Seriously!

How the hell was he stuck in a freaking shopping mall, carrying shopping bags with horrible smiling people and giant logos, with three giddy children accompanying him around?

Scratch that, two giddy children. The third one was just...weird.

Said kid was looking up at him irritatedly. "Can we go home yet?"

Kakashi sighed. "No, Sasuke, not yet, we have to get clothes for all three of you - your old torn ones just won't do." He whispered in his ear, "Trust me, I hate this as much as you do. But if you cooperate, I'll buy you a tomato on our way back."

Sasuke immediately brightened. "You promise?" He asked in all 6-year-old seriousness.

Kakashi nodded solemnly, and Sasuke steeled himself and did his best to look happy and cheerful - like a normal child should. Well, as happy as Sasuke could do. Kakashi gave him brownie points for trying.

The other kids, Naruto and Sakura, looked genuinely joyful. He swore the two were having a field day. They were gawking everyone and everything, with people smiling at them and calling them 'cute'. It was amazing how people's attitude changed when you're supposedly of different status - in this case a normal child instead of an orphan.

Finally, they arrived at the dreaded destination. The ninja supplies shop.

It was a quaint little place at the corner of a street, with windows that displayed hundreds of kunai, shuriken, senbon, and anything else you could think of.

Now, normally Kakashi loved this place. It was one of many ninja stores in Konohagakure, but it had good quality clothes and weapons especially.

But today...he was brining three kids along with him. That were definitely NOT genin age. This was going to be awkward.

As he pushed open the door, the shopkeeper, an old man named Kaito looked up from his weapon polishing.

"Ahh, Kakashi! What brings you here, my friend? Need more senbon?" Kaito smiled at the arrival of one of his most frequent customers. He then noticed the three kids now currently attached to his leg.

Instead of giving him a look of confusion, he let out a booming laugh. "Alright Kakashi, which girls did you bang up to get these three? 'Cause they sure don't have the same momma, that much is clear!"

Kakashi flushed a deep red worthy of a fire jutsu, while his three charges looked at him in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei, what does 'bang up' mean-" Sakura started.

"Sakura, don't ask. Please." He managed to grind out. He shot a glower at Kaito. "And these are my soon-to-be genin team, _not_ my kids." He growled at the shopkeeper.

Kaito simply shrugged, giving him a mischievous smirk. "Hey, your reaction was priceless!" With another glare aimed at him by the copy-nin, the shopkeeper held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok. So, what can I do for ya'll, kiddos?" He grinned at the kids.

Naruto grinned right back. "We're here to get some ninja clothes, ojii-san!"

Kaito gave another chortling laugh. "I like you, kid. You've got spunk!" He said, ruffling the blonde's hair.

He turned to the other kids. "Now, what are your names?"

"I'm Naruto, dattebayo!" The blonde nearly screamed, waving his hands around.

The pinkette smiled. "Hi, I'm Sakura."

The black-haired boy merely said, "Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

Kaito clasped his hands together. "Well then kiddos, let's find you guys - and girls - some awesome ninja clothes!"

* * *

"Ooooh! Look at this! It's orange!"

"Dobe...that looks horrendous."

"Aww, but Sasuke-teme! I don't even know what 'horrendous' means!"

"It means bad-looking, Naruto."

"Ohh, thanks Kura-channn! Wait - NO IT IS NOT UGLY!"

"Tch. Then you're colorblind."

Kakashi had to agree with Sasuke on this one. The orange jumpsuit he was currently looking at was...horrendous.

The orange neon fabric glared up at them harshly, with the baggy sleeves that prevented almost all movability. Kakashi shuddered.

"Hey, Naruto, I have a good idea of a color scheme for you!" Kakashi said fake-brightly.

"Really." Naruto said excitedly. "What is it?"

Kakashi tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hmm...I'd say blue and black, the blue to match your eyes."

Naruto pouted. "Awww...but I love orange!" His whining then gave way to some contemplative thinking. "Although...blue isn't a bad color either..." He mused.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot." He had already found seven normal ninja clothes sets, all of the identical. All seven were in generic ninja black, along with metal arm guards and leg guards, with 2 sets of black ninja boots.

Seriously, with all the black he would be sporting, along with his dark eyes and hair, he'd look like a walking shadow. Which, Kakashi supposed, was a good thing for a ninja.

He just hoped he wouldn't dress like that casually - then people might start asking questions.

Sakura, on the other hand, was holding up two matching outfits on hangers, looking between the two. One was a simple red kimono top with black shorts and a grey skirt, the other an off-shoulder green top with a mesh long-sleeved shirt underneath that you could see at the sleeves and neckline with black cargo pants. Both sets had black ninja boots.

She looked up at her surrogate-father. "Kakashi-sensei, which one do you think is better?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at the two. "Hmm. I think the green goes better with your hair and eyes."

Sakura examined the clothes critically a final time before nodding cheerfully. "Yeah, I think so too. Thanks Kaka-sensei!" She chirped.

Kakashi realized that compared to when they first met, Sakura had gained a lot of confidence. Whether she was just nervous around him at the time or not he had no idea, but either way it was a good sign.

When Kakashi looked again, the pinkette was holding up seven sets of the same outfit. Handing a stunned Kakashi the pile, she smiled cheekily. "Thanks for holding my clothes for me, Kakashi-sensei!" With a mischievous wave, she vanished into the shop, probably going to look for her brothers.

_...That little brat._

Naruto finally emerged from the maze of clothing racks. "Hey Kakashi-sensei! Check this out!" He proudly held out a jumpsuit that, thankfully, wasn't orange. It was sky blue and black, very similar to the orange one he was currently wearing, except A) it wasn't as old and beat up, and B) not nearly as obnoxious-looking.

Sakura nodded her approval. "That's pretty good choice, Naruto-nii. It goes well with your eyes."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks, Kura-chan! I like it too, 'cause it reminds me of my old jumpsuit, only better!" He hugged the blue garment to his chest lovingly.

Sasuke grunted. "Can we go now?" He gave Kakashi a pleading look...well, if Uchiha could plead.

The other three rolled their eyes.

Making their way over to the counter to pay (Kakashi grumbling about carrying Sakura's stuff), they were greeted by old man Kaito.

"Alright! You kids got your stuff?" He grinned and ruffled Sakura's hair, causing said girl to giggle. "Good! Alright, Kakashi, let me ring them up." He held out his arms for the enormous pile of ninja clothes, which Kakashi gave to him gratefully.

Checking their prices, he announced, "8000 yen."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's pretty cheap, for 21 ninja outfits. Aye you sure you didn't-"

Kaito winked at the ninja. What was he...oh.

Kakashi grinned. "Thanks, Kaito."

"Don't mention it." Kaito grinned back.

Yup, Kaito was a great man.

* * *

The three kids had made it home relatively fine, well, except for the fact that Sasuke and Naruto were arguing like typical six-year olds about who's clothes were better.

"Alright, how about you guys try on your new outfits?" Kakashi suggested.

Both boys nodded and immediately began to strip. Sakura on the other hand began flushing a deep red as she fidgeted uncomfortably. "But...Kakashi-sensei..."

"Oh." Kakashi felt like an idiot. "Errr...go on to the bathroom."

Nodding gratefully, the pinkette made her escape to the bathroom, while both boys were trying on their new clothes.

Posing in front of the mirror, Naruto grinned, and obviously the mirror-Naruto grinned right back. "I look totally awesome and handsome, dattebayo!" Kakashi had to admit, without the orange jumpsuit Naruto did look a lot more serious and less...well, weird.

Sasuke groaned. "Shut up, dobe." Pulling on his new boots, he grunted. "These'll do..." Decked out in black, the ex-Uchiha pulled on the sleeve. "And the sleeves are made to fit senbon inside. Not bad."

Which was probably Sasuke-nese for "Wow, this is pretty cool. I like them!"

"Are you guys decent?" A timid voice called out.

Shouting a confirmation, Kakashi motioned for her to come out. "Let us take a look at your new clothes, Sakura."

Stepping out into the light, Kakashi grinned. "You look so cute, Pinky!" He teased.

Sakura gave him a mock-glare and crossed her arms. "Kakashi-senseiii! I'm supposed to look intimidating, not _cute_!"

Naruto snickered, holding his hands over his mouth gleefully. "Sorry Kura-chan, but you _do_ look pretty cute..."

Sasuke smirked. "Yeah, you do."

Sakura stamped her foot in typical 6-year-old fashion and pouted. "I hate you all."

Kakashi gave her an eye-smile. "Hate is a strong word Pinky..." He chuckled.

Kakashi did have to admit though - Sakura looked pretty damn cute. The green was fitting with her hair and eyes, and the top wasn't too low-cut (they were still six, after all).

Said girl fidgeted with the ninja boots. "These are so thick, Kakashi-sensei, what are they for?" She complained, shaking one leg out.

"They're meant for ninja duties - you can climb roofs and walk over broken glass without it piercing through, and the padding allows for an almost silent walk." Kakashi explained. He gestured to his own boots. "Plus, they're sturdy, and they're warm for cold weather."

"But that's just it! What if it's summer?" Naruto whined in agreement.

Kakashi sighed. "You deal with it."

Sasuke grunted. "Hn."

Kakashi clapped his hands. "Alright, my little minions, time to go to the Training Grounds to test out your new outfits for movability."

"Ugh, do we have to?" Sasuke groaned.

Kakashi smirked. "Yup. Unless, of course, you want a repeat of yesterday..." He trailed off.

All three soon-to-be genin were suddenly up on their feet. "Hai, sensei." They grumbled in unison.

* * *

Kakashi knew there was someone watching the second they entered the training grounds.

He was a former-ANBU, an elite ninja capable of completing S-Rank missions with ease (mostly).

He would be very disappointed with himself if the mysterious ninja remained unknown.

"Um...Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto waved his hand in front of said man's face. "Are we starting?" He, along with his other two charges, were waiting not-so-patiently for Kakashi to begin.

Kakashi nodded. "But not just yet."

It was time for the ninja (whoever it was) to come out. Naruto gave him a look of confusion. "But what do you mean by-"

"All right, ninja-san, you can stop spying on us now." Kakashi called into the nearby area, cutting off the blonde. "We know you're here - come out so we can see you."

Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened, and Sasuke unsheathed a kunai, unconsciously inching towards his siblings.

The grass rustled eerily, as everyone held their breath for the mysterious ninja to arrive.

With an ominous swirl of mist, their spy appeared before them. Kakashi made his way towards his students, prepared for the worst.

What he DID see, however, calmed him a bit.

It was a standard masked ANBU in the usual Konoha black bodysuit and armor, albeit short for an operative, with dark hair jutting out in spikes behind the mask of a bird. Kakashi recognized him at once, or at least his reputation. "Crow."

Crow inclined his head. "Hatake-san."

Sasuke looked between the two suspiciously. "Kakashi-sensei, who is this?"

Crow turned to the raven-haired boy. "It's been a while, otoutou."

If Sasuke could look shocked, he did now. "_Aniki_?"

Naruto looked between Sasuke and Crow, a look of plain confusion on his face. "Ok, what am I missing here? Who's this guy, Sasuke?"

Crow the did something that no ANBU member ever does. He removed his mask.

The bird mask revealed a teenage boy with a pale face with onyx eyes and raven hair, with two lines along the sides of his eyes. He also looked strikingly similar to Sasuke.

"I'm Itachi," said the teen, "Sasuke's older brother."

* * *

(A/N I was going to end it here but this chapter's too short -.- Enjoy the continuation!)

When Itachi revealed himself, Kakashi was expecting one of the following:

A) Sasuke would be overjoyed to see his brother again (Kakashi still didn't get why the hell Sasuke hadn't told them sooner...)

B) Sasuke would be shocked into silence.

He was not, however, expecting Sasuke to glare at his brother so fervently that even Itachi, the emotionless ice block he was, looked mildly shocked.

"What do _you_ want!?" Sasuke yelled. His hands were clenched into fists and his eyes burning with loathing. It was an amount of hate that was definitely NOT health for a six year old boy, especially when seeing his beloved older brother for the first time in 2 years.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Checking in on my little brother, as per Hokage-sama' orders."

Sasuke growled. "Oh, of course it's just about the Hokage and orders. What about your little brother - oh, wait, you don't have one anymore." He spat with contempt. "You lost the right to call me "otoutou" two years ago, when you sided with _them_."

Itachi sighed. "Sasuke...you didn't understand-"

"What was going on?" Sasuke's voice was growing shrill. "Oh, I knew perfectly well what was going on. _You_, Mother, Father, Hachiro, _everyone_! You were all planning to _banish me_!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. Itachi was in on this plan to banish Sasuke?

It made no sense. Everyone who knew Itachi knew that he loved his brother more than anything. Then why would he plan against him? It made no sense.

Itachi's eyes widened, though only slightly. "_That's_ why you left?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Yes, _that's_ why I left."

Naruto chose this time to intervene. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it." He held up his hands. "Ok, why did no one tell me this before? Sasuke, you have an older brother who was plotting along with your parents to banish you?"

Itachi's shoulders slumped. "But that didn't happen."

Sakura looked confused. "O-ok, I'm lost here. Uchiha-san, Sasuke-nii, h-how about you guys explain y-your sides, since you obviously have c-conflicting opinions."

There it was with the stutter. Kakashi supposed it was natural to feel nervous around others, especially scary ANBU whom your honorary brother hated the guts of.

"Alright," Itachi conceded. "I suppose you deserve to find out the truth."

He waved a hand, gesturing for them to follow. "Come with me."

* * *

"Two years ago...there was unrest in the Uchiha clan." Itachi began. The three almost-genin and theirs sensei were sitting in a small cafe, about two blocks east from the Uchiha Compound. Sakura and Naruto were showing open interest, while Sasuke was scowling in his seat, arms crossed tightly across his chest, but was listening nonetheless.

"One of the Uchiha Clan elders, and old man named Hachiro-"

"Wait." Sasuke interrupted rudely. "What does this have to do with me being banished? He was one of the few people who were nice to me!"

Itachi sighed, as though he was expecting this. "Patience, otoutou, I shall continue."

Sasuke moved as though to retort, but Kakashi held out a hand. "Easy, Sasuke." He warned.

The black haired boy grudgingly quieted down, and Itachi continued.

"He was always a shifty man, slippery as an eel and malicious as a snake. Now, Uchiha many stereotypes, mostly about us being power-hungry, cold, and ruthless...and I'd be lying if I said some of it wasn't true. But Hachiro took this to an extreme. He manipulated everyone, the Council, the other elders, and you, otoutou, just to accomplish his own goals." Itachi clenched his fists. "We believed he was working with Danzo."

Kakashi's face darkened. "Danzo? That's a new low." Everyone, the Hokage included, had their suspicions about the shifty councilman, but they obviously couldn't do anything about it. Sasuke's eyes were widened suspiciously.

Itachi nodded in agreement. Kakashi could feel the incredible killer intent radiating off the teen. "He tried manipulating Father, but luckily oto-san saw through it and, along with okaa-san, planned on banishing him. Father only told me because he wished for me to spy on him, to find incriminating evidence. But before I could do that, you apparently disappeared." Itachi hung his head. "You just disappeared. No trance, no stuff gone, just disappeared."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "But...you...you..."

Itachi looked at him with solemn eyes. "We didn't banish you, Sasuke."

Naruto looked utterly confused. "So Sasuke thinks he was banished, and Itachi thought he disappeared, then...it's all a huge misunderstanding?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No...I don't want to believe it."

Itachi put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Otoutou...we would _never_ banish you."

Sasuke stood still for a second, before flinging his arms around his older brother. "Aniki..." His voice quavered.

The ANBU operative, in Kakashi's humble opinion, looked the happiest he'd ever seen him.

Releasing Sasuke from his impromptu hug, Itachi questioned, "But why did you think you were banished anyways?"

The younger boy sighed. "I had come home early, and you, tou-san and kaa-san were all in the kitchen talking and didn't know I was home. You and kaa-san were saying things like 'But why do we have to banish him?' And 'Don't you care about your little brother?' You even said...kaa-san even said 'But Fugaku...would you really do that to your youngest son!?' And he said 'For the good of the Uchiha Clan...yes.' And after all that...I ran away to escape the humiliation of being publicly banished." Sasuke realized his eyes were watering and reached to wiped them furiously, only to feel two pairs of arms wrapped around him.

Two familiar kids, one pink haired and the other blonde, were smiling at him, their gazes full of sympathy. "That's awful Sasuke...I don't know what I'd do if I heard that..."

Sakura nodded. "Sasuke-nii...why didn't you tell us?"

A warm hand was laid on his shoulder. Onyx met onyx and Itachi stared at him passively. "Otoutou...you didn't deserve that." KAkashi barely noticed his clenched fist. "It wasn't your fault."

Sasuke growled. "What I'm more upset about is how Hachiro played me like a fool! How could that lowlife get the better of me..?" He grumbled.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto suddenly felt very awkward. Sakura began chewing her dango slowly and Naruto twiddled his thumbs.

"But wait..." Sasuke, thank Kami, interrupted the awkward silence. "Why didn't you look for me?" He sniffled, some of his former vulnerability returning. "Didn't you care?"

Itachi placed both hands on his shoulders. "Sasuke. Of _course_ we looked for you. But we couldn't cause too much of a ruckus...if Danzo found out an Uchiha had run away from the compound, he'd definitely want you to join him. Trust me, he can be very persuasive when he wants to be..." Itachi's voice faded into a deep hatred.

Kakashi had to wonder - what kind of bad blood was between Itachi and Danzo?

"Aniki..." Sasuke muttered. "Should I...go back to the compound?"

Everyone at the table straightened, waiting to hear this.

Itachi looked, for once, uncertain. "I don't know, Sasuke. But I'd suggest staying away from the compound for a while...things are in unrest."

Sasuke nodded. "I think I'll stay with my new family for a while..." Itachi visibly seems hurt by this, "But knowing that my real family is still accepting of me is...nice." He finished.

Itachi smiled - for most people it looked like nothing more than an upward twitch of the lips, but coming from Itachi it was like an ear-splitting grin worthy of Naruto.

He patted Sasuke on the head. "I need to speak with your jounin instructor for a bit, please go ahead and begin training."

The three genin, knowing their place, nodded, and hand in hand exited the little cafe.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Itachi...there's something you wish to discuss with me?"

Itachi silently grabbed a piece of paper, scribbled something onto it, and promptly handed it to the confused jounin.

"Itachi, what is this for exactly-" Kakashi didn't get to finish because as soon as Kakashi grabbed the piece of paper, Itachi silently teleported away.

Opening the paper curiosity, his brow furrowed at the words written.

_Danzo is behind this._

...

...

...

Well, that wasn't creepy at all.

But...what did that mean? Was Danzo behind Sasuke's banishment? But that made no sense - if Danzo knew, he'd immediately snatch the little Uchiha up and never let go.

Sighing, Kakashi prepared to teleport back to his students. Uchiha Itachi was a mystery - a thirteen year old mystery but a mystery nonetheless.

* * *

Back at the cafe, a 17-18 year old girl walked up to where the group was previously. Putting on her best waitress-smile (because Kami knows it's not a real one) she pulled out her pad and cleared her throat. "All right, is there anything else I can get you guys tod-" She noticed the entire table was totally empty.

"Godammit those shinobi! Always leaving without paying!"

* * *

"Alright, my little minions, without further delay, it's time to test out your new outfits!" Kakashi called out cheerfully.

For once, the upside-down U that was his eye looked very, very sinister.

"Wait. Before we start."

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"...You never bought me my tomato."

**Hoped you guys liked this! ^^ Because I know I had fun writing this...though it took waaaay longer than expected since school is being...well, school. I just wanna clarify a few things:**

**So basically Sasuke overheard Fugaku, Mikoto and Itachi talking about the certain corrupt Uchiha elder (whom I can't remember the name I gave him... -.- nice going HS, nice going, I know) and thought he was banished, so he left before he could be publicly humiliated. Itachi and the others though he was missing, but they kept it hush-hush so Danzo wouldn't find out.**

**As for the whole clothes shopping thing...well, they couldn't be in their dirty, old, nasty clothes forever, right? Besides, Kakashi's a former ANBU and probably got $$$ from all those S-Ranks ;) Sorry about changing Naruto's signature orange, I just found it unrealistic that Kakashi would let him wear something that bright as his ninja uniform...but don't worry, Naruto's still gonna have an orange wardrobe and stuff :3**

**And, as you've probably figured out due to the one too many hints in this chapter, SPOILER: the Uchiha Massacre _will_ happen. And I'm sorry to those who don't like this, but it's a big part of the storyline with one difference - our favorite team, instead of trying to kill Itachi, will try and clear his name...maybe. At least Kakashi'll try. **

**As for the ages in this, just to make things clear:**

**Kakashi: 20-21**

**Naruto: 6**

**Sakura: 6**

**Sasuke: 6-7**

**Itachi: 13-14 (so he basically just became ANBU captain - *insert squeal* it all fits! ^^)**

**Since this is about 6 years from the canon beginning, just take everyone's ages and minus 6. **

**And one more thing: (I'm sorry, this AN is taking an ETERNITY...) I've been having a bunch of people ask me about stuff in reviews, most of them involving the Uchiha, their backstories, and stuff like that. Here's my response: I. WILL. EXPLAIN. EVERYTHING. LATER. ON. IN. THE. STORY. I know stuff doesn't make sense right now but pleeeaaaaaase, just bear with me - it's only the fourth chapter! I promise all your questions will be answered, and if they aren't feel free to PM me or drop a review, but LATER. Ok? Ok! ^^ **

**Ok, that's about it with my blabbering, hope you enjoyed this, and see you soon - that is, if homework doesn't kill me first... -.-**

_**Next Up: Justus, training, and just plain old cuteness :3**_

**R&amp;R!**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	5. Chapter 5

**All right! Here we are with the latest installment of Look Out World, Here Comes...you know what, screw that. I'm calling it The New Sannin from now on. xD**

**...You know, I literally JUST figured out "Sannin" means "Three Ninja" in Japanese ._. You know, "San" as in three and "Nin" as, well, ninja...I feel so dumb. Though now I get why Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru are called "The Legendary Sannin" or "The Legendary Three Ninja"...yeaaaah ignore me I'm rambling. **

**Aaanyways, thanks so much to EVERYONE for such incredible support...I seriously can't believe my story is this popular and it's only a few chapters in! And an extra special thank you to Chaos Cain, who added my story to their community! ^^ I'm honored that you think my story is good enough to be there. Thank you to everyone really! All the support and lovely comments...I don't deserve this. I really don't at all.**

**What YOU guys deserve, however, is another chapter, so here it is! Enjoy! ^^**

"Alright, the first jutsu every genin needs to know is Kawarimi, or the Body Replacement Technique. It's an E-Rank jutsu, so hopefully it won't be too hard for you guys to master." Kakashi showed them the hand signs slowly.

"Wait, for the second one, it's like this?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi walked over and showed her. "No, your middle fingers are laced behind. No, not like - yes, that's right." He ruffled her hair. "Good work, Pinky."

Sakura grinned, but scowled at the nickname. "Quit calling me that..."

Kakashi gave her an eye smile. "Nope!"

Grumbling, the pinkette went through the hand signs again.

As Kakashi was helping the girl, chaos was erupting across Training Ground 14.

"Ahh!" Naruto screamed as he suddenly popped into a tree, a leaf fluttering to the ground where he just was a second before.

"Hn." Sasuke was dangling from said tree, his legs tangled in the vines. "This is humiliating."

"Umm...sensei...is this supposed to happen?" Sakura questioned, both of her legs stuck in the dirt.

Kakashi winced. This was why he was no academy instructor...

"I apologize, I didn't tell you exactly how to switch with an object." He pointed to a nearby rock. "Say I'm about to be hit by a jutsu and want to replace myself with that rock over there. I need to focus my energy on the rock, do the hand signs, and keep focusing on where I want to end up. The key here is focus."

Kakashi sped through the hand signs quickly, and with a POOF he appeared a few feet away, a rock tumbling down into the dirt where he once stood. "You can't let anything distract you, just keep everything concentrated on where you want to go. The same theory is for the Shushin, of Body Flicker Technique, but that comes much, much later."

Kakashi went through the signs again, and reappeared before his soon-to-be-team. "This may seem like a simple, learn-it-and-forget-it jutsu, but it has many uses that can be explored, and mastery of this can save your life. I know that this simple technique has saved MY life many times over."

He turned to his students. "Remember, this may be a low-ranking jutsu, but in the hands of a master, _every_ jutsu can be deadly, useful, life-saving, or even all three."

The genin nodded with a unified, "Hai sensei!" Naruto even gave a salute.

Kakashi smacked his head. They were acting less and less like children and more and more like adults. This was bad. He couldn't have them grow up too fast...not like his childhood.

He felt guilt heavy his heart and winced as he realized he was pushing them too fast, too far in just a few days. They needed a chance to be kids...even though Kakashi in myself had no idea what to do with kids.

"Sensei? What's wrong?"

"Hmm...what do you guys like to do to celebrate?"

* * *

Kakashi was officially hopeless.

Note to self: DO NOT GIVE THREE ALREADY HYPERACTIVE SIX YEAR OLDS ICE CREAM SUNDAES AND LET THEM INTO YOUR HOUSE. He then mentally underlined and bolded the sentence.

Now, before anyone yells at poor Kakashi for having no common sense whatsoever, let's keep a few things in mind.

1) He is an orphan.

2) His dad committed suicide and since then he's been a cold, heartless, single ANBU officer who has NO INTERACTIONS WITH KIDS whatsoever.

3) ...Can you really see him trying to learn how to take care of a kid just on a whim before this?

Yes, Kakashi was hopeless with kids. And these kids-

"HEY HEY HEY KAKASHI-SENSEI C'MON AND LET'S GO AN' PLAAAAYYYYYY!"

-were going to be the death of him.

Kakashi facepalmed - again - as Naruto went flying into one of his walls.

BIG mistake to let these monsters in his house after the ice cream disaster.

Long story short, after Kakashi and his almost-genin finished their daily exercises with their new outfits, and learned Kawarimi correctly, they had ice cream to celebrate success on learning the new jutsu, since Kakashi had observed some normal families and noted that kids tended to beg their parents for ice cream - which for some reason they refused most of the time.

...He finally understood why.

Now, how was Kakashi supposed to know that having an ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce, gummy worms, whipped cream, and a cherry on top was a bad idea? It looked like junk, to be honest, but the kids loved them!

Looking around the disaster that was currently his home, he regretted not simply chaining them to the training area while he went home to a quiet, peaceful house and read his romance novels (cough, porn, cough).

All three kids were going haywire and the silver-haired man gave up on calming them down a while ago.

Sakura and Sasuke, the more collected of the three, were playing "Ring-A-Round-A-Rosie" while screaming at the top of their lungs, (Sasuke. SASUKE.) while Naruto simply ran around and crashed into everything crashable. The walls, the dressers, the bed, the couch, the dining table, the stove, the bookshelf, Kakashi himself, Sakura, Sasuke...you name it and he crashed into it.

A knock on the door made Kakashi's face widen in both relief and horror. On one hand, it was an excuse for him to temporarily leave the disaster room. On the other, however, it would be totally mortifying to have someone see how Hatake Kakashi, legendary S-Class ANBU, was powerless to stop three six year olds.

Well, he supposed that as long as it wasn't someone like Anko, they'd be nice enough to have pity on him.

Carefully making his way to the door, and avoiding the fallen debris, he tiptoed over the welcome mat (which had touch-sensitive poisoned senbon hidden inside...he'd have to remove those eventually...) and turned the brass doorknob.

"Hey Kakashi, wassup?"

...What cruel, horrible deed did he do in his last life to deserve this?

Standing in the doorway was Anko Mitarashi, tokubetsu jounin and craziest girl in Konoha, (not to mention self-proclaimed psychopath). Her usual fishnet outfit was present as she absently chewed on a stick of dango, a kunai idly twirling in the other hand. Her spiky hair was messed up, and there were two long scratches on her cheek, leaving Kakashi to conclude that she either finished a mission or was training earlier - though it didn't explain what she was doing at his house.

"Um...hi, Anko-san. May I ask what you're doing here?" Kakashi questioned, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Anko scoffed. "Always so accusing...I just came back from a mission and heard yelling coming from your apartment, so I wanted to check in and see if you've finally come to your senses about torture or if you were the one being tortured." Kakashi had a feeling that if that was the case, Anko herself would want to join in on the torturing.

Anko tapped her foot impatiently. "Well, aren't you going to tell me what's going on? I have an appointment at the dango shop, ya know!"

Kakashi scratched his head rather sheepishly, a look of embarrassment coming onto his face. "Errrr...come see for yourself." There was no way around it, he supposed.

The kunoichi followed the silver haired man inside his small apartment (once again stepping over the welcome mat) to be greeted by the chaos. Apparently, Sasuke had found his shuriken stash and was using his drapes as target practice, while Sakura and Naruto were using bright red markers to color on his walls.

Kakashi yelped in horror. "All three of you, quit it now!"

Anko, on the other hand laughed sadistically. "Ahh...I like these little monsters already! They your kids, Kashi?" She inquired with a smirk, knowing his old nickname would annoy him.

Kakashi felt a tick in his eye as he mentally took a deep breath. _Do not murder fellow Leaf shinobi...do not murder fellow Leaf shinobi..._

"Hahahahaha I'm just pulling your leg Kashi, I know for a fact they ain't your brood! They look nothing like you and your old man hair!" she chortled. "Besides, your reaction was priceless." Did everyone seem to love teasing him about this lately?

"Anko..." Kakashi sighed exasperatedly. "They're my soon-to-be genin team, after I enter them in the Academy this year."

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow at this. "This soon, and your thinking about genin? A bit ambitious there huh Kashi? They're still kids ya know..."

Kakashi nodded without missing a beat. "They already have incredible skills, I truly believe that they could be prodigies in their own right." He let a grin slide into his face. "Wanna meet them?"

Anko laughed. "You bet I would!" She leaned in to his ear. "Besides, this is the first time in...well, forever that I've seen you smile..." she whispered.

Kakashi shrugged. Time to call in the devils... "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, come here! We have a visitor!" He really hoped they would listen this time...

At the word "visitor" the three kids sped towards the two jounin, each of their faces alight with curiosity.

Sakura was the first to speak. "Umm...sensei, w-who's that?"

Kakashi smiled faintly. "This is Anko Mitarashi, a fellow jounin of mine and friend." 'Sort of' he thought. He gestured to the kunoichi on his left.

Said kunoichi raised a hand in greeting. "Yo kiddies." She punched Kakashi to the side and crouched down. "As that idiot said, I'm Anko, awesomest kunoichi ever."

Naruto laughed. "I like her already Kakashi-sensei! I'm Naruto, dattebayo!"

Sasuke smirked. "Hn. Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

Anko clapped her hands together. "And what's your name, Pinky?"

Sakura muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Why do grown ups always call me Pinky?'

Anko laughed. "I like you already, kid. And just saying, by the way, I'm calling you Pinky from now on."

Sakura had the courage to roll her eyes. "Kakashi-sensei already does that enough..." She groaned.

Kakashi shrugged when faced with Anko's glare. "What?"

She kept glaring.

Kakashi stared back.

She kept glaring.

"...Fine, I'll think of another name."

The jounin laughed victoriously. "Well, you men can go play with Kakashi's house some more, I wanna get to know Pinky. We girls gotta stick together, right?"

Sakura fiddled with her fingers. "Yeah...Naruto and Sasuke are great and all..." She whispered in Anko's ear. "But I don't have any girl friends to hang out with..."

Anko winced in sympathy. "Yeah, being stuck in a house with a bunch of smelly, irresponsible, annoying, irritating boys really sucks. I feel ya, Pinky."

Kakashi gave her a deadpan look. "Really, Anko?"

Anko laughed. "Alright, I was originally going to just drop in and drop out, but your kids are interesting, Kakashi. I think I'll take Pinky with me to the dango shop."

Sakura stared at her, eyes wide. "But...are...are you sure? You...really want me to come?" She whispered.

The kunoichi stared at her. "Obviously, kiddo, or I wouldn't be here inviting you, would I?" She grinned mischievously. "Besides, I think you need some girl time."

Sakura felt understanding dawn on her before a small smile graced her face. "I'd like that. Thank you, Anko-san."

Anko ruffled her hair. "No problem, kiddo." She turned to Kakashi, whom had already heard the whole exchange, but ignored that fact. "You have no say in this, so I'll give it to you straight - I'm stealing her for the rest of the afternoon, go train your boys or something. We need some girl time at the dango shop." She winked at the pinkette.

Sakura grinned.

Naruto stepped forward and sent a glare towards Anko. "Hey, hey, hey, we don't know you, lady. How are we supposed to trust you with Kura-chan?"

Sasuke stepped beside his surrogate brother and nodded firmly in agreement.

Anko smirked. "Though it's cute how protective you two are, you don't need to worry...much. We're just going out for dango, and your daddy," "Hey!" shouted an indignant Kakashi, "can even follow us there if he wants. He's an ANBU, nothing gets past him."

Three pairs of accusatory eyes snapped towards the sheepish Hatake. "Wait - you said you were a jounin! You lied to us!" Sasuke accused.

Kakashi shook his head. "Actually, no, I didn't." He paused, clenching his hands. "I got temporarily disbanded from ANBU operations."

Anko gaped. "So you're saying you got kicked out of ANBU?!"

Kakashi nodded, crossing his arms and glaring at the nearest wall.

"Hehe..hah...BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" The snake summoner burst into uncontrollable laughter as she gasped, "My...god Kakashi...wait till...everyone...finds out...about...this one!"

Kakashi glared at her fiercely. "Shut. Up. Anko."

Said kunoichi just rubbed her hands together and sang, "Blackmail~"

"Anko..." Kakashi said warningly.

Anko immediately dropped the joking attitude. "You wanna mess with me Kakashi? You may be former-ANBU, but you're still yet to beat me in a fair fight."

Kakashi paled slightly, and the three kids shrank back fearfully. "No, Anko."

Suddenly, her teasing and slightly psychotic demeanor was back, and she smiled happily. "Knew you'd see it my way, Kashi!"

The silver haired man merely groaned. No one could tell Anko what to do except Lord Hokage, and even then it was because she chose to listen to him.

The kids, realizing the coast was clear, returned to the group.

Sakura tugged on Anko's sleeve. "Um...Anko-san, can we get going?" Her look turned sheepish. "I really like dango."

Anko ruffled her hair affectionately. "You're a kid after my own heart, Pinky. Let's hit the road." She waved a lazy hand towards the three boys. "Later, losers."

As the two girls walked out the door hand-in-hand, the three boys simply stood there gaping.

"...So that's Anko, huh?" Naruto muttered.

"Yup." Kakashi replied in an equally flat voice.

"She's scary." Sasuke admitted in a low voice.

"Yup."

"And strong, from what she said."

"Yup."

"Let's hope she doesn't rub off on Kura-chan..."

"_Hell_ yes."

"Umm...what do you mean by 'hell'-"

"_Forget I said anything_!"

* * *

"Here you are...umm...nine servings of dango." The surprised waitress murmured.

"Alright!" Anko clasped her hands hands together in anticipation. "Now we're talking."

"Anko-san...who are the nine servings for?" Sakura inquired curiously.

Anko blinked, and looked down at the massive plates of dango. "First, call me Anko, "-san" makes me feel old. And as for the dango, well, a girl's gotta eat right? So I ordered two for you and seven for me!"

Sakura let a grin bloom on her face. "I like the way you think, Anko-nee-san." She chirped.

"'Nee-san'? Oh boy that's priceless!" Anko chuckled. She picked up a stick of dango, each with four plump dumplings, in each hand and started chewing. "Well, huwwy up keed o you won' ge any." She instructed Sakura with her mouth full.

Sakura, looking down at her own plates, shrugged. She grabbed a stick and tore off a large dumpling, chewing slowly to savor the sweet taste.

"So, Sakura-chan, how'd you end up with old man Kashi as your guardian?" Anko asked.

Sakura blinked her eyes as she felt the smallests of stings. "Me and my brothers, Naruto and Sasuke...we're all orphans. You're actually the first female who was..._nice_ to me. Kakashi-sensei was the first grown-up who noticed us, and he adopted us."

Anko smiled softly. "So Kashi does have a heart after all..." She murmured to herself. "So, kiddo," she addressed Sakura, "I'm really your first girl role model?"

The pinkette nodded eagerly.

The snake summoner laughed softly. "Then I suppose I should do my best to be a good one then, huh..." She paused. "Tell you what."

Sakura leaned forwards curiously. "What is it?"

Anok grinned. "I'll be your new sensei!"

The young girl blinked. "What? But Kakashi-sensei is already-"

"Please," Anko dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "There's no rule against having _two_ sensei, now is there?"

Sakura shook her head slowly. "No, I suppose not..."

Anko clapped her hands in finality. "Well there you have it! Now you have two sensei's!" She grinned and ruffled her bubblegum locks. "Aren't you a lucky kid, Pinky."

Sakura still looked hesitant. "You...really mean that?"

"Course I do, Pinky, I don't break promises. Ever." Anko told her kindly.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you...Anko-sensei."

Said jounin laughed. "Anko-sensei, huh?" She repeated with a grin. "I could get used to the sound of that..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well, today's Saturday, right? So I'll train you this time every week, and afterwards we can go out for dango together!"

Sakura grinned. "And you're willing to train me and teach me cool ninja stuff?"

The snake kunoichi smirked. "Yup, along with some things girls need to know to survive in this world."

She pointed to the massive plates of dango. "Well, are we gonna eat that or are we gonna eat that?"

The pinkette's answering smirk was absolutely evil as she reached for another stick.

* * *

"Umm...Kakashi-sensei...when is Kura-chan gonna be back?" Naruto questioned.

Kakashi shrugged helplessly. "Anko is very...independent. She'll come back when she feels like it." The man then remembered her advice. "But until then, I'll teach you two a few tricks about being on a genin team."

Both kids leaned forward eagerly. "Ooh ooh, now we can get stronger Sasuke-teme! This'll be great!"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Now, there are five Great Elemental Nations. Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Lightning."

Both kids nodded. "We know this already, sensei." Sasuke grumbled.

"Good, good. Now, let me continue, or you won't learn anything at all." Kakashi scolded. "Each nation is powerful in its own right, and the shinobi exceptional. But do you know why Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, is the strongest?"

Naruto shrugged. "Umm...because our shinobi are trained better?"

"Not quite Naruto." Kakashi told him.

"Something about teams...it's teamwork, isn't it, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke asked, though it was more of a statement.

"Correct!" Kakashi smiled, while Naruto grumbled about 'Sasuke-teme always being right'. "Our shinobi learn to work together, to rely on bonds and trust between teammates. Because our shinobi aren't just employees in the same business. We're friends, comrades, partners, family. _That's_ what Konoha is all about."

Naruto wiped a tear away. "That...was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard..." He fake-sobbed.

"Naruto!" Kakashi roared and smacked his head. "Don't mock this!"

Sasuke grunted. "Hn. You're both idiots."

Kakashi turned his glare on the Uchiha. "Aright, next training session you both get double workouts!"

Both boys paled, though Sasuke less noticeably. "Nani!?" Naruto screamed.

Kakashi smirked. "Now listen up, I'm not finished yet." He cleared his throat. "There's an old quote by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who was also my sensei." Both boys' jaws dropped. "'Those who disobey the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' _Those_ are words to live by."

Both Naruto and Sasuke stared at each other. "So if I abandon Naruto on a mission that's considered bad?"

Kakashi nodded an affirmative.

"Dang. I really wanted to do that."

"WHY SASUKE-TEME YOU-"

A knock on the door drew their attention. Two female voices could be heard outside. "-So I just went in with my kunai and told him 'You wanna mess with a Konoha kunoichi? In the words of my dear friend Kakashi: You're screwed.' And you won't believe how fast he ran! Seriously! And all I was doing was holding a kunai, which _Academy_ level ninja can do!"

The second voice let out a tinkling laugh. "Wow! Oh, we're here. See you next week?"

"Sure thing, Pinky. Take care of yourself and keep those boys in line!"

"Will do, Anko-sensei!"

The three boys paled. '_Anko-sensei?_' Kakashi thought.

'_Oh **crap**_.'

**Aaaand there you have it! Hope this chapter was as fun reading as it fun writing! Seriously, Anko is definitely one of my favorite Naruto characters of all time :) So I hope I kept her in character. Do me a favor and tell me how I did!**

**So little Kura-chan has a sadistic, confident kunoichi as her new mentor, and this'll be the start of Badass-Sakura ;) as for the boys, well, they'll have plenty of badassery themselves, but I couldn't have Sakura be a shy, timid, Hinata-like girl forever, now could I?**

**Meh. Only 3.7k words. :/ Sorry about the shortness, but I couldn't really think of what else to write here...**

**_Up next: Mentoring, training, and E-Rank jutsu!_**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, my loyal minions- err...*cough* I mean readers! ^^' I am back with another chapter! Yay! :D On break right now so this chappie came not even earlier than usual! ;)**

**...Ok, I got no freaking idea what to write for this chapter's A/N so let's just hurry along shall we? On to chapter 6!**

The next few days were filled with a flurry of training, training, jutsu, eating Kakashi broke, and more training. Team Hatake, as Kakashi newly dubbed them, were really transforming into the team he had imagined them to be.

For one, their teamwork was already exceptional (Naruto and Sasuke still fought like an old married couple but Kakashi supposed you couldn't be perfect), being practically family, so there was no need for teamwork-building exercises in Kakashi's mind. Plus, if they learned together, they could synchronize their fighting styles with each other's and _that_ was something to be reckoned with.

Not only that, but they inhaled jutsu after jutsu at a speed that would make Shushin no Shisui proud, (E-ranks of course, and an occasional D-rank) learning quickly and helping anyone who couldn't learn it themselves. Kakashi didn't even need to prompt them about teaching each other, that they simply did on their own.

And finally was their simple, hardworking attitude that rivaled most of the current chunin in Konoha. They trained six hours a day, stopping only for meals and play time in the evening. Their diligence was truly inspiring, seeing such young kids working their asses off to achieve greater heights.

The thing that seemed to change the most was their attitudes. After the first three or so days, the kids began to realize the seriousness of being a shinobi. it was not a position of greatness and glory, of saving princesses and protecting their villages with flashy and powerful jutsu.

Being a shinobi meant working in the shadows, not necessarily getting recognition. In the life of a ninja, being noticed would mean death - being famous was dangerous, not wonderful.

Kakashi felt guilty taking most of the joy out of their training and forcing them to learn so quickly, but in this world, children could become prey and they needed to learn how to defend themselves and the ones they cared about - mainly each other.

The good thing, though, was that they still seemed to enjoy training, getting stronger and completing grueling training exercises that Kakashi dreamed up, though definitely not without complaint.

"Alright, now that you've covered the basics of being a genin, it's time to move on to more advanced techniques. I think I'll teach you a couple elemental jutsu." Kakashi proclaimed as the group stood in the center of Training Ground 11, which had become sort of a makeshift home after spending so much time training here.

All three genin's eyes lit up, until Kakashi continued, "But first, let's double your daily warm-ups to test your endurance, shall we?"

Groats echoed around the training field as the three children began their new training regime - one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, fifty pull-ups, and twenty laps around the training field.

"Right...now...I...freaking..._hate_...Kakashi-sen...sei..." Naruto panted angrily as he pushed himself up, barely having the energy to lower himself and just plopping down each time. "Seriously...fifty...pull-ups? That's...just...not...right..." He adjusted his grip on the tree branch.

Sakura, gasping for breath beside him, nodded weakly in agreement. "This...is...ridiculous...kids out age shouldn't...be forced to do...such a hardcore...training exercise!" She groaned, wiping one of her sweaty hands on her green shirt. "And I thought...the _first_ one...was hard!"

Sasuke, panting alongside them, added in his five cents. "Kakahsi better show us some...pretty awesome...jutsu, or I...will gut him alive..."

Sakura managed to roll her eyes. "You're...so blood...thirsty Sasuke..."

Naruto groaned again. "This exercise could make...the...most peaceful...person on this planet...want to murder this dude..."

"True..." Sakura admitted. "If this wasn't...for our own...good, I would've quit...a loooong time ago." She told them breathlessly.

The boys nodded in agreement before returning to their pained pull-ups, their hands digging into the rough tree bark.

_46, 47, 48, 49...50!_

The three almost-genin slumped to the grassy floor in a rather undignified matter, however all of them were too out of breath to care.

Kakashi stood over them, his eye-smile in place as always. "Remember, my cute little minions, you still have twenty laps around the training field..."

Naruto groaned. "Come on, sensei...give us at least five more minutes?" He pleaded.

Kakashi's grin now looked rather...sinister.

* * *

"GAH KAKASHI-SENSEI WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING SENDING YOUR CRAZY NIN-DOGS AFTER US YOU BAST-"

Cue smack from an enraged pinkette. "Shut up, Naruto, you're the reason we're stuck in this situation in the first place! And watch your language, you're six for Kami's sake!"

Said boy whimpered. "But Kura-chan..."

"Both of you quit arguing OR WE'LL BE EATEN ALIVE BY KAKASHI'S EVIL DOGS!"

"Quit it Sasuke, you're not helping!"

"Well, at least I'm TRYING to get order around here!"

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

"TEME!"

"DOBE!"

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU BEFORE I KNOCK BOTH OF YOUR ASSES TO SUNA AND BACK!"

...

"H-hai, Kura-chan!"

"Sakura...what's gotten into you?"

Kakashi sweat-dropped. He supposed Anko was rubbing off on her...and he had to wonder where they learned those swear words...

"Irritation and exhaustion. Sorry about yelling..." Insert cute smile.

"Awwww, it's ok neechan!" Insert giant mega-watt grin.

"...But seriously, you guys need to get along." Insert glower.

"Hn." Insert scowl.

Yup, Sakura had her boys wrapped around her pinky finger and she didn't even know it.

Hehehe, _pinky_ finger...

...

...

...

Kakashi really needed to stop thinking up jokes in his mind. The damn kids were starting to rub off on him.

"Naruto, QUIT LEANING ON ME YOU DOBE..." The kids' voices began to fade as they reached the other side of the training field.

_Although_...Kakashi mused with a smile, watching his genin screaming bloody murder as they ran their laps, his nindogs hot on their heels, _maybe taking after them isn't such a bad thing after all._...

...

...

...

"NARUTOOOOOOOO!"

"AHHHH SASUKE-TEME DON'T KILL ME! SAKURA HELP SAVE MEEEEE!"

"Oh god...just keep running you idiots..."

...

...

...

...Second thought, he just hoped he'd retain his sanity by the time they were of genin age...

Three exhausted almost-genin soon stood before him, well more like collapsed, glaring katanas at him. Why katanas? Well, he supposed their anger couldn't be contained in daggers.

"Kakashi-sensei...that...was inhumane." Naruto glowered.

"You're so cruel sensei!" The youngest child cried, leaning on her older brother.

"Hn. You're evil."

Kakashi scratched his head. "Well, now that I know you guys are up for it, let'a start with some elemental jutsu!"

This got the kids excited. Naruto began bouncing on the balls of his feet, while Sakura smiled eagerly and Sasuke just leaned forward.

"Now," Kakashi began hand seals, "I'm not going to be teaching you all at once. You each get private lessons from me."

Naruto waved his arms frantically. "But who gets to first?"

The silver eyed man chuckled. "Why, all of you of course."

He finished his hand signs. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Instantly, two copies of Kakashi appeared in puffs of smoks next to him.

Three jaws dropped.

Naruto, curious as ever, went up to one and poked it. "Huh, it's real!"

The clone glared at him. "Obviously I'm real, idiot."

The blonde jumped three feet into the air. "AHHHH! IT CAN TALK!" Naruto screamed in shock, backing away rather quickly.

Kakashi rolled his eye exasperatedly. "They're shadow clones, Naruto. They can talk, think, and do everything I can do, except once they're faced with a certain amount of damage they dispel."

The two Kakashi clones nodded. The first one gestured to Sakura. "Pinky, you're coming with me to learn some water jutsu. I think earth would suit you as well."

Sakura nodded in agreement, while Sasuke questioned, "But she doesn't have an affinity..."

Kakashi shrugged. "You don't need an affinity in order to perform jutsu, it just makes it a heck of a lot easier." He smiled. "Besides, if Sakura learns earth, you'll have every element at your disposal."

Naruto raised his hand as though he was in a classroom. "But sensei, if you don't need an elemental affinity to perform elemental jutsu, doesn't that mean one person could learn every type?"

Kakashi mulled it over. "I suppose, in a way, yes. Certain jutsu, depending on the user, might be harder to pull off, depending on what their elemental affinity is." He gestured to Sasuke. "Take Sasuke for example. He's a fire and lightning type. That means it'll probably be harder for him to learn water jutsu, since it's the polar opposite."

"Ohhhh!" Naruto exclaimed in understanding. "So for me, the hardest would be earth or something? You know, like ground and sky?"

Their sensei clapped his hands. "Excellent, Naruto." The blonde preened at the praise. "And for Sakura, her hardest would be fire and air."

The pinkette nodded. "But I can still learn how, it just would be extremely difficult, right?"

"Right. It's VERY rare for someone to master all five elements. Being able to utilize all five however, is not unheard of. Most jounin need to master at least 3." Kakashi replied. Taking out two scrolls, he passed them to his clones, who were waiting patiently on the side, each with an identical orange book. "Alright, you two, take Naruto and Sakura off to a corner or something, and help them learn the basics. You know, elemtal chakra creation, spiritual side of it, the usual."

With the kids snickering off to the side, he realized his shadow clones were totally ignoring him.

"Ahem." Kakashi felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation (it seemed to be doing that a lot lately).

The two silver-haired clones looked up. "We heard you..."

"But I'm at this really good part where Achiko and Kamei-hime finally get together and they-"

"SHUT UP!" Kakashi thundered. "There are KIDS around, you idiots!"

The second clone shrugged. "Then you should put away the copy you have in your jacket pocket."

The three kids were howling in laughter, not because they knew what he was talking about (thank Kami) but because Kakashi's shadow clones weren't listening to their creator.

Naruto was slapping his knee, gasping for breath as he calmed down slowly. "What's the point of having shadow clones if they don't do whatever you say?"

Kakashi grunted. "I don't really know..." With a wave of his hand the two clones dispelled, the scrolls dropping to the ground.

Weaving the hand signs once again, two more clones took the first two's place.

The new one raised his hand. "Yo."

The second one was about to whip out a certain book when Kakashi sent it a threatening glare that screamed '_You even LOOK at that book and I will dispel you. Got it?_'

The first clone rolled his eyes and picked up the scroll. "Sakura, follow me. The blonde idiot goes with weirdo over there."

"Hey!" The second one shouted indignantly. "We're all the same!"

Rolling his eyes again, the clone led the pink haired girl away and towards a small pond.

"Naruto," the second one grumbled, still put out by the first clone's attitude, and beckoned to the blonde. "You're coming with me."

The blonde kid grinned and followed the clone eagerly, awaiting his chance to learn some 'super OP and totally awesome jutsu that'll make me look totally cool - not that I'm not cool already!' Fuuton jutsu.

The original Kakashi gestured for Sasuke to follow him. "Sasuke, you're with me. I have a strong repatoire of both Katon and Raiton jutsu, so you really can pick which you'd like to start with."

For once, Sasuke looked thoughtful. "I think I'd like to try whichever is easier to master first, to get a strong base to work off of."

Once again, the silver-haired Jounin was impressed by the wisdom and maturity of the Uchiha's words.

"Well, fire jutsus are probably easier to master, since it takes an incredible amount of control to keep the lightning tamed when performing jutsu. Plus, the Uchiha Clan specializes in Katon jutsu, so you ought to have a knack for it." Kakashi reasoned.

Sasuke nodded in agreement, and the training began.

* * *

"Alright Sakura. I think we'll start with water, since it's your affinity and all." The clone began. "Suiton jutsu is found most commonly in Kirigakure, or the Village Hidden in the Mist. It's a very versatile element, capable of defense, offense, and countering. It's also a pretty easy element to control, unlike fire or lightning, which if it gets out of hand there could be a lot of collateral damage. Now, Suiton jutsu may not be the one that packs the most punch, it's still very useful to have in your arsenal."

The pinkette nodded, sitting down in the grass near the river.

In order to get the feel of elemental chakra, you have to...basically _feel_ the water. Now, I won't pretend I'm an expert at water jutsu - in fact, I'd say that's probably my weakest one, besides Fuuton. But I can still help you out with the basics."

Sakura nodded undestandingly. "Sensei, will I have to be _in_ the water to do this?"

Her sensei shook his head. "No, you don't _have_ to be, but it'll probably help. You see, in order to create Suiton chakra, you need to feel the water's natural energy, how it flows, how it ebbs, the way it twists and bends, and get an image of its natural power." He paused at Sakura's confused look. "Umm...let me put it this way."

The silver-haired clone walked over to the riverbank. "See this water?"

Sakura gave him a deadpan look that yelled _I'm not blind you idiot! Get on with it!_

Kakashi-clone sweat dropped. "Errr...rhetorical question. Anyways, you need to _understand_ the water in order to call upon its natural energy inside your body. Not just use it without knowing what it does."

Slowly, the pinkette understanding seemed to dawn in the pinkette. "Just like how in order to fight with a weapon, you need to understand what it does and how it works?"

The jounin-clone gave a pleased smile. "Exactly. You can't fight with this new chakra unless you become familiar with it and can harness it at will. If you can't call upon it in a instant, on the battlefield you'd be dead. Now," He noted Sakura's look of panic. "I'm NOT expecting you to master it immediately. Heck, I'm not expecting you to master it in the next week. But you need to become familiar with it in order to control it."

The pinkette nodded, silently relieved. "So what do I need to do?"

Kakashi-clone gave her an eye-smile. "It's simple, really. Focus on the water." the girl turned towards the river. "Imagine the natural energy radiating off of it." Her brow furrowed. "Now take out your hand, and using only your will, try and create water in your palm." Sakura's eyes widened.

"B-but, how do I do that?" The girl stuttered.

Kakashi sighed, pulling out his trademark orange booklet. "It's complicated, but you need to will your chakra to take the form of water's natural energy, and then use that chakra to draw water out of the air and into your palm."

The pinkette winced. "I-I'll try..."

With a look of uttermost concentration, the girl closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She used her senses and expanded her 'vision' to the river, listening intently to the rushing sound.

**Ok Outer-chan, just focus, and keep concentrating in that rushing sound. Can you almost feel the water's energy as it flows downstream?**

_Actually, kind of, almost like I can feel a sort of aura around it._

**Yup, that's it. Now try and will that energy to take form inside of you.**

Sakura imagined the sounds of the water, the shimmering of the liquid's surface and the coolness of the temperature and focused her chakra. She felt for a small pool, like liquid chakra, and concentrated as it began to transform.

Kakashi-clone, over the top of his book, stood there stunned. Here was a little girl, no younger than 6, beginning to create elemental chakra! Most kids couldn't utilize it until at least seasoned genin, and here was a young girl, not even an _Academy_ student, doing it on her first try!

Prodigies. Truly prodigies.

Kakashi-clone just wondered if the others were having as much luck as Sakura was. Unfortunately, he'd have to wait until after practice when the clones, including himself, were dispelled to find out.

* * *

"Naruto."

...

"Naruto."

...

"Naruto!"

...

"NARUTO GET UP YOU LAZY PILE OF DOG FEED!"

"Gzzh-gah-uhh...what?"

"...Seriously. Try and listen as I talk! I'm trying to teach you about elemental chakra!"

"But I already know, Kakashi-clone-sensei! You've said it a million times in your ridiculously long speech - I need to transform my normal chakra into elemental chakra by focusing in the natural energy of the element and then mimicking it!" Naruto recited, bored out of his mind.

"Yes, Naruto, but do you know _how_ to mimic it?" The clone asked, one eyebrow raised.

"..."

"That's what I thought." The clone said smugly. "Now listen up. Wind is, sadly, my worst element, but I can give you pointers. You need to feel the essence of wind, the freedom, the unpredictability, the barely controlled chaos, and channel it into your chakra, before molding it into elemental chakra."

Naruto scratched his head. "...So basically I need to put the feel of wind into my chakra?"

The clone sweat dropped. "Simplified but yes."

"Ha! I knew it wasn't nearly as hard as you made it out to be!" The blonde sat down in meditation position and began shaking in concentration.

...

...

...

The clone-sensei sighed and pulled out his book. "...You know sitting there acting like you're constipated won't do anything right?"

"WHY YOU-"

* * *

"So Sasuke, since I'm pretty sure you know how to mold Katon chakra already," he got an affirmative nod from the Uchiha, "We'll start with the basic exercise."

The real Kakashi held out a stick he got from a tree. "Hold this."

Sasuke, looking at Kakashi dubiously, grabbed the stick and held it firmly in his hand, awaiting further instructions.

"Using only your fire elemental chakra, light the tip on fire."

"...You're kidding, right? That's almost impossible."

Kakashi eye-smiled. "That's where you're wrong, my cute little student." Sasuke scowled. "It's actually quite simple; after all, if people can walk on walls, shoot fireballs out of their mouths, create concrete walls instantaneously, and make electricity shoot out of their hands, why not light a twig on fire with nothing but chakra?"

Sasuke conceded. "You have a point..."

The silver-haired teacher clapped his hands. "All right, get to it!" Kakashi wasn't really expecting him to get it on his first try, but hey, Kakashi is sadistic, what can I say?

"...And _how_ do I do that?"

"Feel the burning fire inside of the chakra, the heat, the energy, everything. The concentrate your chakra on the very tip of the twig, and hold your focus there."

The black haired boy stared at the twig in concentration, eyes narrowed and focused.

Aaand he just stared.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared.

"Sensei this is taking too long. What am I doing wrong?"

"You're not doing anything wrong, Sasuke," Kakashi said with a wave of his hand. "This just takes a loooooooong time to master, especially for a six year old."

The boy pouted, but returned to staring at the twig.

* * *

Kakashi-clone #1 was getting reaaally bored.

Now, watching a six year old girl sit in place and meditate was _fascinating_ and all, but seriously, he had reread his book two times already! Even the scene between Miroku and Hikari was getting old, and that was his favorite scene!

The clone just sat there wearily, watching the girl's chakra slowly begin to change and pool into elemental chakra, but then plop back down. Then she cleared her head and repeated.

Kakashi-clone _really_ hoped Kakashi would dispel him soon, lest he die of boredom.

"Kakashi-sensei...err...clone, what am I doing wrong? I can feel the Suiton chakra forming, but when I try and reach out to use it, it almost seems to shatter at my touch. I can't get a grip on it!" The frustrated girl cried.

The clone patted her on the head. "It's amazing you've even made it this far, Pinky, just keep trying. It always seems to be the hardest at first. Remember the feel of the water, even when you're trying to use it."

Sakura nodded softly, and closed her eyes again. She slowly began molding the elemental chakra, making sure to keep the flowing feel of the water firmly in mind.

She imagined a whirling ball of blue chakra, like a whirlpool, ready for her to use. But she needed to go with it, not force it. Water would just evade her and slip through her fingers. That's just how the element worked.

Doing her best to mimic the flow of the water, she began drawing the chakra out into her hands, noting how moving with the chakra was so much easier than just trying to lasso it and pull it out.

Suddenly, her fingertips felt wet, and she opened her eyes to see a tiny trickle of water running down from her hand and a stunned clone-sensei.

* * *

Naruto glared at the leaf.

The stupid, annoying, _impossible to tear in half without using his hands_ leaf.

He'd been concentrating on pushing his wind chakra (which he finally managed to do, despite Kaka-sensei-clone not being very good at it) into the leaf, and cutting it in half, for the past three or so hours, according to a very annoyed clone.

Despite his best efforts, the leaf had yet to split even a tenth of an inch.

"Arrrg, this is impossible! Gah! Why did sensei set me up with an impossible exercise?!" The blonde screamed in irritation, throwing the leaf away in a fit.

The clone rolled his eyes. "Listen, Naruto, my creator can't even do the exercise after _four years_ of trying. You've been at it for _three hours_. Take a chill pill." He pulled the book closer to his nose, trying to avoid the sight of Naruto sitting there like he was going to take a dump.

Suddenly, Kakashi-clone felt a tug. "Well, looks like your time is up. See ya." With a POOF of smoke, the Kakashi-clone disappeared, and Naruto was left staring at the dang leaf. "Alright, I am soooo done with this exercise."

With that, the blonde began his trek back to the center of the training grounds.

* * *

"Good work, my cute little minions." KakashI complimented them as they returned to the center. "Sasuke managed to make his twig smoke, Sakura managed to get a small stream of water, and Naruto...managed to mold his chakra."

Naruto glared at the jounin. "Hey, I know for a fact that my chakra control is the worst out of the bunch, since I have ridiculously big reserves!" He pointed to his sister. "Sakura has the smallest, but also the best chakra control, while Sasuke is in-between. So obviously I'm going to have the hardest time."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Good analysis, Naruto. Anyways, what I was going to say was I brought you guys some yen, of you want to you can hit the town for some snacks."

The three genin stared at him in confusion.

"..It means that you guys can go out and explore the city for a while, buy some food and stuff."

"Ohhhhhh." The three kids replied in unison, causing the jounin to laugh.

Jeez, with the 6 days I've had the kids I've laughed more then I have in my entire lifetime...

Sakura took a few yen, and told her brothers, "I'm going to the dango shop, I'll meet up with you guys there?"

Naruto grinned. "Sure think, Saku-chan, me and Sasuke are probably going to explore for a while. Where's the shop?"

"Oh, it's west of the Hokage Tower, over by the Hyuuga compound." Sakura replied.

Sasuke ruffled her hair. "Be careful, Kura."

The pinkette giggled. "Don't worry, Sasuke, I'll be fine!" She smiled mischievously. "Besides, who would hurt a young, defenseless girl?"

* * *

Sakura strolled down the busy streets, dressed in a clean white tank top and a cute green skirt that Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke (the traitors) had coerced her into wearing.

Her bubblegum hair tied in a high ponytail and a few wisps trailing down the edges of her face, she looked in awe at the man shops she finally could shop in, thanks to Kakashi and his generous allowance.

"Well, if it isn't Forehead-girl!" A nasal, eerily familiar voice called out.

Sakura, wide-eyed, turned on her heel. In the middle of the road stood a clique of about 7 girls, each one with their heads high and the latest in civilian clothes, but Sakura only had eyes for the leader of the pack. She had long purple hair and beady brown eyes, and was currently smirking at the pinkette.

It was a face that had almost faded from memory, but Sakura would never forget her name.

"Ami." Sakura snarled.

"Well well well, so your parents didn't kill you after all, _Forehead_. What a shame." Ami sneered. "So, still wandering the streets like the mangy little mutt you are?"

The girl scoffed. "Well, I suppose everyone can't be as lucky as me and my family, along with my _fabulous_ friends here," she smiled at her little group, who grinned back in adoration, "But still, I really pity your family for having such a useless, ugly, ungrateful, and most of all _stupid_ little bitch as their child."

Through it all, the pinkette had her head bowed, arms trembling with barely suppressed rage. She stood silently, taking all the verbal abuse.

One of the girls, with flaming red hair and green eyes, called out, "Hey dumbass! What's wrong, not smart enough to think of a comeback? Or are you so stupid you can't even understand what we're saying?" She snickered.

The other girls laughed mockingly, Ami laughing the hardest and congratulating the girl. "Good one, Mizaki!"

Another girl, this time with brown hair with a delicate silver headband, shouted, "Awww...is the poor little baby crying? Oh, don't cry you USELESS PIECE OF TRASH!"

Silent tears ran down Sakura's cheeks as the girls cackled at her pain. No, it wasn't because she was hurt or afraid, no, she could take them down in an instant, being a shinobi. But at the moment, all she could think about was _before_, when she was still there, haunting her every move.

_Flashback:_

_A young girl, barely even four, with beautiful pink hair was sitting by the swings, wishing to get away from her parents._

_"What's wrong, Forehead?" A purple haired girl purred. "Your parents mad at you? I don't blame them. You're so lame and dumb I'm surprised they haven't given up already..."_

_"Stop it! Mommy and daddy love me!" The girl cried._

_The other girl laughed. "Yeah, sure looks like it...your own parents don't want you!"_

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_A cute, young little girl, her hair done in braids, was listening to her mother in horror._

_"Yes, Sakura is _such_ an ill-mannered child, I'm sure this play date with such a wonderful role model like Ami would straighten her out a bit..." Her mother patted the child next to her fondly._

_Said girl was smirking at the pinkette. "**We're gonna have so much fun together...**"_

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_"Ow! No! Mommy, _please_..." Begged the girl as her mother hit her again._

_"You ungrateful little brat! You hit a poor, innocent girl and now her parents hate us! Our social relations are ruined thanks to **you**!"_

_THWACK!_

_"No...please, stop!" She screamed._

_Outside the window, a certain purple-haired girl was smirking in victory._

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

_"Ami! W-what are you doing here?" A four-year old Sakura stuttered._

_Ami grinned maliciously. "Why, your awesome mommy set up another playdate, Sakura, since you're my _best friend_ and all..._

_The pinkette backed away from the girl. "No, g-get away from me!"_

_The girl only laughed. "Time for our favorite game - beautiful huntress and ugly monster. You obviously can't be the huntress so...__."_

_Sakura sniffled. "Well, I-I'm ten times prettier than you, who's ugly inside and out!" She screamed bravely._

_Ami eyes widened in shock, before narrowing in rage. "You're going to pay for that..."_

_THWACK!_

Sakura glared fiercely at the clique. "What do you want?"_  
_

Ami scoffed. "It isn't obvious? Well, you're definitely more brain-dead than I thought!" She ran forwards and with a sudden kick knocked the pinkette down on her back, causing her to cry out in pain.

Sakura grabbed her ribs painfully, looking up at her childhood bully with hatred in her jade eyes.

A third girl, this time with blue-blackish hair and a satin dress, reached forwards to tug on Sakura's long pink tresses.

Sakura felt fresh tears gathering as she desperately tried to pull her hair away from them but to no avail. The girl's high-heeled black boot came down hard on her chest, and she was held in place.

"Jeez, how lame is she, not even fighting back and crying like the little baby she is!" Ami snickered as she advanced towards the pinkette, whom was steadily growing more and more afraid. What if she couldn't take them all on? After all, their parents would side with the kids if she attacked, and Ami's parents were on the civilian council. She couldn't do anything without fear of punishment.

"Hey! Get **away** from our sister!" A familiar voice snarled.

"**What** do you bitches think you're doing?" Another spat.

"I'm not really liking the look of this situation. You girls better have an explaination for picking on my surrogate daughter or **there will be hell to pay.**" A third, older voice commented, hostility clear in every word.

Sakura felt relief flow through her as the pressure on her hair receded and the girls backed up into a tight group.

Sakura, through the tears, felt two strong arms pick her up and onto their back. Her view was blocked by spiky, gravity-defying silver hair.

"K-Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura muttered, still clutching her chest.

Her sensei hushed her. "Shhh, it's ok Sakura." He shifted, turning to where she assumed her brothers were. "Do whatever you like, boys. Granting full permission for non-lethal force." He told with undisguised malice. Sakura could tell that Kakashi was barely keeping himself from beating them up himself.

"Kakashi-sensei, take Kura back home, I don't really want her to see this."

"Naruto, you do realize she'll probably enjoy this as much as she will?"

"I know that Sasuke, but look at her! She's sobbing and they were stepping on her chest I bet she's hurt!"

"Alright, dobe, less talk, more fighting. They're gonna **pay** for this."

"**Agreed**."

As Sakura felt Kakashi take to the rooftops, she couldn't help but smile. She had her boys, and they'd look out for her, just like she would for them.

_Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi...thank you._

**Aaaand there we have it for chapter 6! Thanks to Lady Yori for the excellent idea with Ami and her group of bi- female dogs -_-' Thanks so much! Brilliant idea :) *applauds* Disappointed you aren't going to see the boys kicking their asses in this chapter? Don't worry, if enough people want to see it I'll start from there on the next chapter, along with some sad Sakura backstory, so hopefully it'll explain everything that happened.**

**I hope the elemental chakra thing made sense...since I basically made it all up on the spot after reading a lot of Narutopedia xD **

**O_o Already at 91 reviews, this is absolutely insane. Seriously. I mean, if the current pattern continues, I'll have 100+ reviews in the next chapter! I mean, WTF! You guys are incredible! Thanks sooooooo much to EVERYONE who is reading my story and takes the time to review :D It really warms my heart to read every single one of your kind words or suggestions :)**

**(Pssst: just a quick note - whoever is my 100th reviewer gets and special shout-out and preview for the next chapter, whatever number it may be, and I'll check out one of their stories, and review of course, if they have one. Sounds good, right? Right! So REVIEW! Err...not that I'm tying to bribe you or anything...hehehe ^^')**

**Hehehe, 5.7k words :) I am proud of myself. Longest chappie yet!**

**_Next Up: Sakura has some explaining to do to her sensei about just who those girls were, while the boys have their "fun" with said girls. Plus, the Hokage has required our favorite team to go to Konoha hospital for a...checkup. Oh boy..._**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey people! I'm back with another chapter for The New Sannin! I apologize for the longer wait than usual, but school has been living hell and I had a bit of trouble keeping the characters in character while giving Ami a respectable beat-down. :/ Took much longer than it should have. BUT there were quite a few awesome reviewers that gave encouragement and enthusiasm for this one and I couldn't let you all down now could I?**

**One thing I need to address before moving on: I got a guest review about how they're mad that Sakura didn't defend herself and needs to be saved. (Theree was one other person who reviewed similarly, but I PM'd them my reasoning and defense) Since I obviously can't PM you a review response, I just want to give you MY reasoning here. No, this isn't me calling you out or something, it's just what I would write in a reviewer response.**

**First off, I'm sorry that you "aren't a fan" of the last chapter. I do appreciate, however, that you wrote your opinion clearly without being totally rude and flaming. If you didn't like it, however, you can always find another story. There are plenty kick-butt Sakura fics out there, I'm sure you'll find at least one that you like. Second, I have plenty of justification on why Sakura needed to be saved. 1, she's a SIX YEAR OLD GIRL. A ninja in training, sure, but still a six year old girl. And when faced with injuries and bullying, most six year olds in general will cry. 2, a figure from YOUR past that made your life a living hell suddenly coming back and taunting (not to mentinp hurting) you would make you emotionally unstable and scared, right? 3, ninja's aren't allowed to attack civilians, even if the civilian in this case is a soon-to-be Academy student. As you will see in this next chapter, Naruto and Sasuke will look the rules in the face and give it a hardy "F*** you." But can you really see the Sakura in _this_ story being like that already? She'll get her character developement. But that kind of thing takes time.****  
**

**Once again, I'm sorry you didn't like this, and you are entitled to you own opinion, ****but if you're going to review about something you dislike about my story, please do it on an actual account so I can PM you my response. It's kind of annoying to have to write a ridiculously long AN so I can respond to a review.**

**Alright, reviewer response over. Was I overreacting? Probably. But I have an automatic need to defend my opinions so yeah. That was that, now onto the good stuff!**

**On the topic of reviews - :D I want to thank you all so much for the outstanding support! We passed 100 reviews! *pumps fist* This is unbelievable o_O I did NOT expect 100 reviews, much less in 6 chapters!**

**I got FOUR shoutouts today: **

**First off, A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO fighting hope FOR BEING MY 100TH REVIEWER! :D :D :D Number ONE HUNDRED. *.* Whoaaaaa.**

**And second, a big THANK YOU to Lady Yori for a hilarious review that really made my day :D Thanks girl, that was awesome! XD **

**Next, a big THANK YOU to Lucretzia, who has added me to her community! Seriously, it's totally awesome to be in a community, and I'm honored you think this story has potential :D Thanks so much Lucretzia...and I seriously hope I spelled your name right ^^'**

**And finally, a THANK YOU to SailorNova007 for adding me to their community too! :D Two community adds in one chapter! Thanks so much dude, it really means a lot!**

**Now, on with the next chapter! You guys asked for a violent chapter (more like spammed me with "update soon and make it gory!" but hey, I love the enthusiasm! ;D)...and you guys are gonna get it ;)**

Setting the injured girl down on the couch, Kakashi tried to channel his "inner father".

"Sakura, honey, what happened?" He asked gently, plopping down next to her.

The pink haired girl sniffed pitifully and brought her knees up in the bed, letting her arms curl around her in a tight ball. Kakashi, rather hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her. He flinched, not knowing what to expect as a reaction. A hug? More tears? A slap?

Luckily, the young girl did none of those, and instead leaned into the man's chest, letting her sniffles die down and clutching his shirt rather tightly.

Kakashi smiled at her, though inside he was...to say the least, freaking out.

_Dammit, my arms are shaking! I can't deal with crying girls...ugh. Here goes nothing._

"Are you hurt too badly?" He asked, trying to keep his voice low and soothing, like he did with a wounded nin-dog from his pack. He pulled one of the blankets up so it covered her knees.

She shook her head weakly. "N-no, I'm ok, but my chest hurts." She said quietly, placing a hand on her wounded chest. "I-I think it might be bruised." She sniffed.

Kakashi growled lowly.

_No one had the right to hurt his daughter._

Emerald eyes gazed fearfully at him as Kakashi realized he was radiating Killer Intent so strong it probably would've sent Fugaku Uchiha running in fright.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so- it's ok, I'm not mad at yo- shhh, don't cry! I'm mad at whoever did this to you, Pinky. Not you. You did nothing wrong." Fumbling over his worlds, the silver haired man inwardly groaned. He was sooooo whipped.

Standing up once again, the silver haired man patted her head, secretly desperate for an escape. "You stay here, I'll go get some bandages and an ice pack." The pinkette nodded once and burrowed her head into her hands.

Kakashi felt his heart clench at the tear-jerking sight. Some _fucker_ had done this to his charge, to his surrogate daughter, and Kakashi had a feeling the boys would not let whoever did this off easily. (That was really the only reason why Kakashi wasn't hunting the bitch down himself)

As a matter of fact, he wondered what they were doing now...

* * *

Ami stood fearfully as two - _incrediblyhotandreallyscary_ \- boys stared her down, their malice clear and their knuckles cracking. Their eyes were covered in shadow, and their shadows stretched waaaay further than they should.

The first boy was cute in a goofy kind of way, with spiky blonde hair and a sky blue jumpsuit And ninja sandals. Two pouches were strapped to his waist. His goofiness, however, was not present as he glared at her with a passion.

The second one was seriously hot (she was seven! She could have crushes if she wanted!) with dark hair and eyes, and simple black long-sleeved shirt and black cargo pants, along with black ninja issue sandals. He too had two pouches strapped to his waist. And like the other boy, he was burning holes into her forehead.

"U-u-um, w-w-what can I h-help you w-with?" She tried to say but stuttered painfully. She inwardly cursed. _No you idiot! Now they're going to be even madder! I bet they saw everything!_

The blonde one (he was cute, she'd give him that) scowled. "You're really giving us that crap?" He laughed humorlessly. "You think we're that dumb?"

"N-no of course no-" Ami tried to pacify him, waving her arms in surrender.

He glowered. "We're. Not. Idiots."

Ami shook her head furiously. "No, no, no, I'm sorry! I just-"

The black haired boy (OMGSOOOOOOHOT) reached into a hip pouch and drew out a kunai. "Bitch. You should know better than to pick on your superiors." He turned to the blonde. "Well, what do you think we should do to her?"

The blonde smirked evilly, and it may have been the light but his eyes flashed red. Ami began trembling in fear. "She hurt Kura-chan, and she's NOT going to get away with it." He paused. "No killing though. I'm not washing my hands in blood for _this_ worthless thing."

The other boy shook his head. "You're such a dobe. Of course we're not going to kill her. Shinobi aren't allowed to hurt civilians." Ami scowled. She was entering the Academy in a few weeks! She was not a civilian!

"Shut up both of you!" She yelled, her anger taking control. "I'm going to the Academy and I'll become a genin!"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "You? A ninja?" He began to laugh, no, guffaw. Tears sprang to his eyes as he laughed harder than he'd ever done before. The other boy chuckled darkly. "Please. You're unfit, you're wearing that _stupid_ \- and seriously unattractive. And you said _my_ clothes were ugly Teme! - dress, you don't have any weapons or combat experience, and worst of all, your attitude!" he glared. "Kura is going to be a ninja too, and she's already 100 times better than pathetic scum like _you_!"

Ami felt her confidence deflate out of her like a popped balloon and she felt her cheeks flame in humiliation. "Y-you're going to be ninja too?" She was going to have to deal with them in the Academy?

The older one rolled his eyes. "We just said that, dumbass."

Heat rushed to her face as the insult hit her like a sharp knife. Her temper began to rise. "Hey! Don't call me that!" She screamed in rage. "Why do you care about that dumb pink haired bitch anyways? She's a demon! A no-good! A _stupid, worthless piece of trash!_"

Both boys froze in their tracks.

Ami immediately knew something was very, very wrong.

"You," The black haired boy began in an eerily quiet and calm voice, "want to know why we care about our own _sister_?" He chuckled mirthlessly. "You want to know why we _protect her_?"

Ami's eyes were widened in fear now. "You're her brothers?!" She whispered in horror. What had she just done? They were doing to hurt her for sure!

"Sakura is our sister." The blonde spoke up coldly. "She's our best friend, our precious person, the _only one who cared about us_!" His voice crescendoed into a full-on shout. "_You have no right to say any of that about her, you **bitch**_!"

The girl held her hands over her face. "Please, go away! I don't want to be hurt!" She begged. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"**Pathetic**." The blonde's voice was deeper now, full of malice, almost _demonic_. "**You claim you're going to be a ninja **when you can't even stand up for yourself, and pick on others **just to make your poor little self feel better**?" His eyes flashed red.

The purple haired girl began backing away fearfully. "N-no! Get away! W-w-what are you going to do to me?"

"I don't know yet." The dark haired boy spoke once again. "But you hurt our sister, and that is **unforgivable**." He narrowed his eyes. "**You. Will. Pay**."

* * *

"S-s-sensei?"

Kakashi stopped in his tracks and focused his gaze on the girl's. The young child held the ice pack to her chest rigorously.

"Yes Sakura?"

She looked down nervously. "Y-you want to know w-what happened, r-right?" She whispered.

Setting the bandaids down carefully, he sat down next to the pinkette and wrapped an arm around her. "Tell me everything."

The young girl took a deep breath. "Alright..." She clasped her hands together quietly.

"I-I was born to a civilian family, a wealthy one at that. My parents, for as long as I can remember, was very concerned about wealth and social status. My parents own the Haruno Enterprises after all." Kakashi's lone eye widened. Why didn't he make the connection before...but why was the heir to such a powerful company _abandoned_? "I was a...different child. My pink hair and green eyes were very uncommon, as a matter of fact, practically unheard of. Who do you know besides me that has pink hair or green eyes?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to respond and closed it again. Now that he thought about, he'd never seen another person with eyes like hers, except in Suna where a couple of shinobi had turquoise-green eyes. And pink hair is almost unheard of, no matter where you were.

Sakura seemed to expect his reaction. "So my parents never really thought of me as a daughter, more like a failed attempt to make the 'perfect Haruno heir' as Mother always said." She laughed bitterly. "The other families were no better. I don't really know about everything, but I do know that there were nasty rumors about me, all because of my looks." She fingered her long pink hair.

Kakashi stared at the young girl in sympathy, realizing that _this_ was why she was so grown-up and mature for her age...she'd never known anything different. Nothing but bias, hate, judgement and scorn.

"I was never good enough for my parents. Never. They wouldn't take me out of the house, they'd lock me up and try and 'educate me' on being a good heir...but nothing worked. No matter what, everyone hated me." Her hands clenched, and a lone tear trickled down her cheek.

"My parents hated me because of how I was ruining their reputation as a 'demon girl', so they took out their rage on me. They would scream and belittle me, a-and they...they...even..." The young girl gasped and tears began overflowing from her emerald eyes with new rigor, unable to continue.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked worriedly.

"They..._t-they hit me_!" She cried. Her sobs echoed in Kakashi's mind.

_They hit me!_

_They hit me!_

_They hit me!_

Kakashi's blood ran cold. He felt his hands clench in anger and looked down on the crying girl.

A parent hurting their child?

**_Unforgivable_**.

Those people would pay...

But Sakura needed him first.

* * *

Naruto shook with rage. These bitches were the ones that hurt Sakura.

They hurt his Kura-chan.

They hurt his _little sister_.

They hurt his _precious person_.

The blonde snarled with an animalistic rage as he glared down the stupid purple haired one.

"If you weren't a Konoha civilian, you'd be six feet under right now." Sasuke growled lowly, Naruto nodding alongside of him.

"You are a disgusting bitch who doesn't hold a freaking CANDLE to our sister. And you're going to pay for everything you've done." The black haired boy finished. He cracked his knuckles.

If the girl looked scared before, she looked going-to-wet-her-pants TERRIFIED now.

"Sasuke...let's cut her hair. She seems to really like it." Naruto suggested.

"Nah," Sasuke dismissed. "Not severe enough. But that can start."

"TEME!" Naruto argued. "We don't have time for this! We gotta beat her up and then get back to Kura-chan, she needs us now!" He crossed his arms. "Besides, we'll be breaking the rules if we beat her up too much!"

"So..."

"...True," Naruto admitted. "But Kura-chan needs us more then we want payback."

"Tch." Naruto had to give him credit. When it came to his family, Sasuke was the most loyal person alive. "Fine."

Pulling a kunai out of his holster, Naruto turned to the other boy. "Restrain her?"

"With pleasure." Sasuke replied with a smirk and seemingly vanished into thin air, being the fastest of the two.

The bitch (he didn't know her name and wasn't going to bother asking) pulled her hands over her head and screamed, "No! No my hair, please!"

Sasuke reappeared behind the bitch and threw a hard kick at he abdomen.

THWACK!

The bitch went sailing four feet in the air and seemingly back flipped before landing in an undignified heap. She screamed.

Naruto felt strange energy start flowing through him as his thoughts began to twist.

He _enjoyed_ that scream.

That realization both chilled his blood and set it afire.

She _deserved_ it.

She deserved _that_ and _more_.

He would make her scream like that _over and over_.

She would _pay_.

The energy seemed to encourage him. _Yes! Kill her! She deserves to suffer! She has no right to do what she did! Make her pay!_

The only thing holding him back was the thought of his sister. Her kind, smiling face beaming at him as she giggled and said, "Naruto-nii, what did you do this time?"

If Sakura saw him carry through with his thoughts, she'd never forgive him.

He shook his head.

His thoughts cleared.

His rage subsided, like someone pulled the plug of a bathtub and the water goes rushing down the drain. His violent thoughts went swirling out of him in one big rush.

He could think clearly. Naruto took a deep breath and couldn't help but wonder _What the heck was that?_

Meanwhile, Sasuke, never one to do a half-assed job, followed through with the kick and sent a solid punch into her "pretty" face.

She screamed again, blood trailing from her nose and her eyes bloodshot and tears.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Enough! I'll cut her hair and let's get going."

That was the first time the blonde ever saw Sasuke pout.

* * *

"Shhhhh, it's alright Sakura. They can't hurt you anymore." Kakashi cooed (rather awkwardly in his opinion) as her sobs slowly decreased into sniffles as she clutched his vest like a lifeline.

"K-K-K-Kakashi-sensei, p-promission you won't *sniff* abandon me too?" She pleaded, her emerand orbs quivering pitifully. "Promise?"

Kakashi's heart once again clenched. It wasn't the abuse that she feared. It wasn't being an outcast.

_She was afraid of being abandoned again._

He swore on the graves of Rin and Obito that her parents would PAY.

"Of course, Saku-chan. I promise."

She gave him a weak smile. "I-I-I-I like that nickname m-much better than the last o-one." She giggled softly, sniffling again.

The silver haired man smiled gently. "I'm glad Saku-chan."

For once, Kakashi felt like he finally did something right.

Setting her down on the bed once again, he asked, "Would you like something to eat? I'll make you some miso soup if you want."

Nodding weakly, the little pinkette agreed. "Yes p-please." She sniffed.

Nodding, the man stepped into the hallway, closing the door softly behind him. He needed to buy some miso soup...

But first, check in on the boys.

Kakashi managed a rather feral grin. He had a feeling the poor (no, not really) little bitch would get what she deserved.

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The horrible, screeching, irritating, annoyingly high-pitched scream echoed throughout the civilian district. The citizens, however, had better things to do than worry over a spoiled brat who probably dropped her teddy bear into a puddle or something, and conveniently ignored it.

The purple haired bitch was collapsed on the ground, her 'beautiful' dress muddy and ripped, scratches and bruises covering her arms and legs, but that wasn't the best part in Sasuke's opinion.

Oh no.

The best part was the bitch's hair was in tatters around her, like a newly unwrapped present on Christmas. (He had heard of the holiday from another kid while shopping for ninja weapons, and assumed it was some kind of extra birthday celebration)

The ugly plum shaded hair was scattered across the road, some strands longer than others. The true masterpiece, however, was her almost bald head. There were a few long strands trailing, which made it look weird, and some places were incredibly uneven and ugly looking.

In Sasuke's opinion, however, it wasn't easy to make her look uglier than she already was, but hey, this was the one time where he acknowledged Naruto as a true genius.

Tch. Not like he'd ever say it in the idiot's face. Otherwise his ego would inflate till he popped.

The bitch was sobbing uncontrollably on the ground, clutching her ruined hair and dress and screaming in rage, "You'll pay for this!" before bursting into tears again.

Sasuke found it rather funny.

Aiming another kick at her stomach, Sasuke let an evil smirk slip onto his face.

THUMP!

Sasuke's foot connected, but not with the bitch.

Instead, he looked up to see the rather displeased face of his sensei.

_Crap._

"I can't believe you'd actually beat her up..." Sasuke winced.

Naruto began, "Sensei, but we were-"

"...without me!" Kakashi finished, pouting.

Sasuke sweat dropped, while Naruto stated at him with his 'DAFUQ?!' face.

"Pssh, you really think this _thing_," he gestured to the sobbing girl, "is going to get away with bullying and hurting my little Saku-chan?"

The man glared at the bitch in question.

"Hold on," Naruto interrupted raising his hands, "So you aren't gonna get mad at us? Sweet!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Whatever...now move, Sasuke. I normally don't tolerate beating up civilians...but this time, I think I'll have to make an exception."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his sensei's dramatics, while Naruto snickered on th sidelines. "Jeez, it sounds like a cheesy line from a movie sensei!" He laughed.

Pouting slightly, Kakashi once again asked, "Sasuke, just move already..."

"Hn." Sasuke grumbled, but nonetheless stepped to the side and allowed Kakashi to have his fun.

"Stand up." Kakashi ordered the girl harshly.

Ami seemed to not comprehend what he was saying, and was instead curled up on the ground murmuring inconstant nothings. "No...no...gzzh...gah...m-m-m-my h-h-hair...what...s-so cruel..."

"I said _get up_." Kakashi ordered again, killing intent radiating off of every word. Ami, scared and eyes wide, shakily stood her feet.

"It's time for me to use my secret, original jutsu." Kakashi said eerily.

Both boys leaned forwards in anticipation. "Oooh! What is it? Will it hurt?" Naruto asked gleefully.

Kakashi smirked. "_Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death_!"

And with that, Ami, her face twisted in a shocked expression, went head-over-ugly-shoes into a conveniently close river, where she landed with a splat.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, all dignity destroyed and her humiliation complete.

Kakashi, satisfied with his work, dusted his hands off and turned to his other two 'kids'.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were staring at him, eyes wide and shining.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI THAT WAS SO COOL YOU GOTTA TEACH ME TO DO THAT SOMEDAY!" Naruto hollered.

Kakashi smiled. "Sure thing, kid. But first, we gotta get Saku-chan some miso." He sent them a suspicious glance. "And by the way...where did you learn all those swear words?"

Naruto's expression was rather...sheepish.

* * *

"Kura-chaaaaaan, we're hooooome!" Naruto sang as he, Kakashi and Sasuke entered the front door.

"...Kura-chan? You here?" Naruto asked, waiting for a response.

Kakashi's eyebrow raised. "Check the bedroom, she's probably taking a nap." He set down the package of miso the boys managed to get from the shopkeeper for free. ("But Ms. Shopkeeper! Our sister is sick and we don't have enough to pay for medicine _and_ the soup! Could we please just have one packet, please?")

"Sakura?" Sasuke called. "Are you in here?" He wrapped his knuckles on the door.

"Shhh! Dobe!" Naruto hushed. "She's probably sleeping!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. "I just said that..." He muttered, but he went unnoticed as the two boys entered the girl's room.

They stopped in the doorway to see a small figure - with distinctive pink hair - sleeping in the bed, covers pulled up to her chin and face nuzzled into a teddy bear that definitely wasn't in the house before.

Naruto and Sasuke both said in unison (albeit Sasuke much quieter):

"Kawaii~!"

* * *

_Ten Minutes Later..._

"Naruto? Sasuke? C'mere, I need you to help me-" Kakashi paused. Setting the soup down, he began walking down the hallway, careful for any traps or pranks.

No response.

"Boys?" He tried again, waiting for an argument, someone calling him "Old man", anything.

Still no response.

"Boys, if this is a prank it's not fun...ny." He finished lamely as he entered their bedroom. He stopped in front of the doorway and stared.

There slept the three siblings, each next to the other and bundled together very snugly. Sakura was sucking her thumb (Did kids really do that? Kakashi had to wonder) while Naruto murmured in his sleep. Something about...ramen?

Kakashi looked left and right, and sent out his chakra to check for any snoopers. Nothing in the immediate area.

Kakashi then whispered a silent genjutsu that would make anyone around not see or hear him. "_Sairentona Kankyo no Jutsu._" He let the rippling illusion take place before once again sweeping the area.

Satisfied that he was alone, he whispered,

"Kawaii~!"

* * *

"Naruto? Sakura? Sasuke? Get up!" Kakashi shouted, pulling up the blinds and letting the blinding morning sunlight enter the room.

Groaning, the pinkette was the first one of the trio up. "Uggh...Kakashi-sensei...what..." She yawned.

Sasuke and Naruto both refused to budge, the latter one of the two clutching the blankets and muttering, "G'way, I w'nna sleep." His voice was muffled from the pillow his head was currently burrowed into.

Sasuke, however, slept like a rock, and Kakashi knew as well as anyone that you should just let sleeping Uchiha lie.

Scratching his head, Kakashi asked Sakura, "How do I get those two up?"

Sakura laughed. "Make ramen and tomato slices for breakfast. They'll notice immediately." She slipped out of the covers and stretched her arms. "But make dango for me please!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Sakura, you can't have dessert for breakfast..."

"But-" Sakura objected.

"No." Kakashi told her firmly.

"C'mon, pleeeaaaaase?" She begged.

"No."

The girl, however, wasn't told off easily, and threatened with quivering green eyes, Kakashi finally obliged. "Ugh...fine."

Clapping happily, the pinkette grabbed her training outfit and skipped into the bathroom.

Naruto, wide-eyed and looking around blearily, asked, "Did someone say ramen? And why was Kura-chan...skipping?"

* * *

Kakashi sighed, watching the three demon spawn devouring their..._unique_ breakfasts.

Sakura munched on her syrup-drenched dango. "So sensei, why were you getting us up this early?" She pouted.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, slurping his ramen like there was no tomorrow.

Sasuke, social as always, silently chewed his tomato slices.

Kakashi sighed.

"Alright you three, Hokage-sama sent me a message today. You guys got to go to the hospital for a checkup, since you three are long overdue for one."

He got three different reactions.

"A CHECKUP!? WE HAVE TO GET A CHECKUP?! ...Wait, what's a checkup?"

"Ugh. Seriously?"

"Aw come on!"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "A checkup is basically where you go to the doctor's office and they see if you're sick."

Naruto frowned. "But we aren't sick!"

"Naruto, they're making sure you aren't sick." Kakashi groaned.

"But I would know if I was sick! Last time I got sick I was barfing everywhere and was really, really cold and my forehead hurt! And I sneezed a lot!" Naruto retorted.

Kakashi blanched. "There are some diseases that you don't notice."

"But if you don't notice, they don't matter right? In order for them to hurt you they need to do something to you! And if they do something then you'll notice them!"

Kakashi sighed. "But there are some diseases tha- oh never mind. Just do it, Hokae-sama's orders."

Sakura spoke up. "But why is Hokage-sama making us go to the doctor's office? Doesn't he have better things to do, like paperwork?"

Kakashi scratched his head. "Err...to be honest, I have no idea."

Sasuke groaned. "I've been to a checkup before. Not fun." He sighed. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

Kakashi pitied the poor man.

"Well...err...what do you mean by 'where do babies come from'?"

Naruto grinned his megawatt smile. "Well I heard a bunch of kids at the orphanage talking about how babies come from birds that deliver the baby on the porch and I told them it wasn't true because then we'd see flying babies with birds everywhere and they said it was true and I said it wasn't and we argued about it for about 4 hours. So I made a goal that if I ever saw a doctor the first thing I'd do is ask them, since the orphanage lady said to ask a doctor if I ever wanted to know the real answer!" He told him, all in one breath.

The poor doctor blanched. "Well, you see..."

Sakura grinned. "C'mon Kaguki-sensei, tell us!"

"Yeah, we wanna know!" Even Sasuke joined in.

The man was shaking, desperately thinking of a way to avoid the topic.

"Errr...do you kids like lollipops?"

"...What's _that_ got to do with anything?!"

Yes, Kakashi pitted the poor man.

**I think I'll leave it there ;) If you guys want, I can continue the checkup scene the next chapter.**

**Letting the boys have their sadistic sides go all out was...ok, admittingly fun. Am I a sadist? Yeah, probably. The Kyuubi is too, in case anyone was wondering about Naruto's little evil streak today. And Sasuke...he's always sadistic and violent.**

**Awkward Daddy-Kakashi ^w^ What more can I say?**

**And Ami thinking that Sasuke is hot...yeah, plot device ^^' I claim all responsibility.**

**By the way, anyone thinks Sakura's getting her emotional trauma too easily, I think I might add in some nightmares about it for more realistic-ness.**

**Once again, sorry about the delay! I hope this chapter made up for it! **

**Oh, and _Sairentona Kankyo no Jutsu _literally translates to "Silencing Surroudings Technique"...Or at least I hope. Google Translate, don't fail me now!**

**So now we got some insight on Sakura's background. Sasuke had his chapter, so pretty soon, it's gonna be Naruto's turn! :)**

**I was looking over this chapter, and I can't help but feel this one's really Saku-centric :I The next chapter will be focusing a lot on Naruto and Sasuke to make up for it. Hope you guys don't mind!**

**_Next up: Kakashi is somehow coerced into taking them to the bookstore. Yes, a new Icha-Icha book is fabulous, but when the kids start asking questions..._**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey people! I'm back with another chapter! :D**

**First off, I wanna thank each and every one of you for the amazing support, as always :) You guys rock!**

**Now, there's a couple complaints I've been getting multiple times, and I just wanna explain and clear the air a bit.**

**Number one: "_Why did Kakashi promote getting revenge? In the show he's a real preacher about how revenge isn't the answer_."**

**It's very true - Kakashi doesn't promote getting revenge. This is a time where he let himself get caught up in the moment, and he'll be having some speculation about that in this chapter. This is the first (but not last) instance where Kakashi's protectiveness of his kids will get him in deep, deep trouble.**

**And that brings me to number two: "_Why is it ok for three ninja to attack a civilian_?!"**

**My answer is simple: it isn't. Kakashi and the boys had their fun, but it will all come back to bite them in the arse- and the Hokage isn't going to be happy. Ami, and her mother, will get involved, and there will be shouting, accusations, and punishments all around.**

**I understand your confusion, guys, but please know this: I am, and will keep on, doing my utmost best to keep the characters in character and the situations believable. If there's something that doesn't make sense or seems to be unresolved, I'm going to be addressing it in the later chapters, as it most likely will be part of the story itself...unless, of course, it actually IS a mistake, because hey, I'm only human, and I'm not perfect.**

**Alright! I hope that cleared things up, and thanks again for all the lovely reviews! A special thank-you to LucyHeart-SakuraHarun for adding this story to her community! Thanks girl :D And one more thank-you to Cherry Daze, for adding me to HER community too :) You guys both rock!**

**And 164 reviews :O Just...wow. I don't deserve this. You guys are amazing.**

**Now, on to the next chapter!**

Watching the three kids as the mercilessly teased the poor doctor pulled at Kakashi's heart strings.

Kakashi remembered a time, long before his life had taken a turn for the worse, when he and his team were so similar - happy, carefree, and most of all _innocent_.

Obito, the cheerful and notorious prankster, would grin cheekily before activating his latest prank.

Rin, the kind and sweet one, albeit one with more of a temper, would smack him upside his head and scold him.

And Kakashi, forever the loner, would roll his eyes and pretend not to know them, all while Minato-sensei watched on with proud, knowing eyes.

"What's wrong, Doctor-san? You're turning red! Did our question _scare_ you?" Naruto asked, his eyes gleaming with mischief and pretend ignorance. Kakashi was fairly sure the doctor knew as well as he did that there was NO way the brat was genuinely curious and innocent about it.

"Yeah, Doctor-san!" Sakura chirped, Sasuke nodding silently. "Tell us!"

No, there was NO way they were innocent.

But all the same, he envied their purity, their light-heartedness. Traits that he would never have, not with his hands stained and his heart in shatters. Not with the darkness he was hiding in.

But these kids...

Sakura turned to Sasuke and whispered something in his ear, and the boy in turn whispered something to Naruto. Said boy immediately had a face-splitting grin that spoke volumes. Kakashi dreaded what the little devil was planning in that mischevious mind of his.

It took all of Kakashi's willpower not to ruffle his hair, something he'd never done in his LIFE.

...Those kids were slowly worming their way into his heart, and he had done reckless and out of character things because of it. He smiled almost every day. He made breakfast for seven (since the three kids could eat two man's meals each) and wore a white frilly apron ("C'mon, Kakashi-sensei! At least it's not pink!") while cooking. Hell, he broke a vow he had made years ago - _Revenge is not the answer. No matter how much you yearn for it, it will only bring sadness and tragedy._

He commited a grave crime, attacking a civilian.

A crime that could get him demoted (again), fined, arrested, or worse...

All in the name of these three little children.

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei! Since Doctor-san refuses to answer, will you tell us?" Naruto spoke up brightly, tugging on the jounin's vest. (Did these kids have a thing with tugging articles of clothing?)

"Yeah, where do babies come from?" Sakura asked, with a glimmering smile to match.

"...Well...you see..." Kakashi began, unsure of how exactly to respond to that awkward question. "I'll tell you when you're older." _But by then, it'll be the Academy's job_, he added mentally.

All three protested. "But-"

"Come on sensei..."

"Awww, I can't wait that long! I wanna be a mommy when I grow up!"

THAT one made Kakashi choke.

"No, you three have a LONG wait before you can learn that." Kakashi spoke firmly, eyes still wide and slightly horrified.

Pouting, the blonde nodded glumly before turning to the doctor's desk. "Hey Doctor-san! Can I have one of those lollipops?" He shouted, all cheeriness and loudness back at full-force.

The doctor, nodding weakly, was suddenly ambushed with a chorus of, "Arigato!" and the scurrying of feet across the room to collect their multi-colored bounty.

Kakashi sighed. _Those kids..._

They were innocent.

They were innocent and he was not.

They were changing him, with those kind faces and childish actions.

It was strange.

He was different.

He was almost..._happy_.

All because of the innocence and kindness of just three little kids.

"Sensei! I think Doctor-san just fell asleep on the floor! And he dropped his clipboard!"

And Kakashi swore with his dying breath that he'd protect that innocence of theirs for as long as possible.

He cursed.

He wasn't doing a great job. He was trying to teach them how to be killers!

No.

Not anymore.

If they wanted to learn, so be it, but he refused to make that decision for them any longer.

* * *

"Um...Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, Sakura?" Kakashi asked absentmindly.

"What are you reading?"

Kakashi swore.

"And sensei, what's the meaning of shi-"

"I didn't say a word. You will forget I ever said that."

"...Sensei, I still remember what you said."

"GOD DANG IT!"

Kakashi a was horrible at being a father.

A shinobi? Fine.

A sensei? Sure.

A commander? Piece of cake.

But a _father_?

"Anyways sensei, what is that book about?" The pink haired girl asked curiously.

Kakashi began sweating. "Oh, er...it's about...about..."

She pouted. "Why won't you tell me? I'm smart enough to be reading grown-up books! I read _History of Konohagakure and Its Ninja_ cover to cover at age five!"

"Well...you see...t-this book isn't really interesting for you..." Kakashi tried.

She frowned. "But if course it's interesting! Why else would you spend our entire training time reading it?" She nudged her shoulder over to the other two kids, who were currently locked in a contest of 'see who can force the other to give up their dessert by using violence to make the other surrender' game. "They've been at it for almost a whole hour and you haven't even noticed!"

Scratching his head, Kakashi tried to explain why she couldn't read it without mentioning...you know. "This novel isn't good for little kids, since they'll probably think it's gross."

She tilted her head. "Gross?"

"There's kissing." Kakashi blurted.

Responding immediately, Sakura gagged. "That's what you're reading? Kissing? Eeeeeeew!" She yelled.

"Yeah. Kissing." Kakashi repeated. _And a whole lot of other stuff too..._

"Hey, Naruto, Sasuke!" Sakura shouted to the boys, who stopped wrestling to listen. "Kakashi reads books about people _kissing_!"

Both boys reacted in a way similar to Sakura. "Eeeeeeeew!" They screamed. "Nasty!"

Kakashi groaned.

* * *

"Hey sensei, we haven't had a third 'training session' since the last demonic one..." Naruto pointed out. "Aren't you gonna keep training us?" Muttering under his breath, he added, "Not that I'd be complaining if you stopped..."

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto...it was a - quite frankly - mistake to start training you three this early..." He brought his hands to his face. "I'm clueless about kids. I assumed that all children were like me when they were younger - smart, strong, and always training. But seeing you three, even though you're hardened from the streets, you still have this kiddyness about you that I always lacked. And I'm sorry. I forced you into something you may not have wanted to do in the first place, you all were so desperate. From now on, I'll be training you once a week, and a second time if you're willing." He crouched down to the blonde boy, who was staring at Kakashi in wonder.

"You...you're really willing to give us a choice?" He said softly, looking more vulnerable than ever. "I...I've never had choices in my life." Gone was the fun-loving, loudmouth blonde, and in his place was a hurt, lonely little boy that Kakashi had never seen.

Kakashi felt his heart twinge. "Of course, Naruto. I promise."

* * *

Sasuke clenched his fists as he pounded on the training bag outside of the house. (He didn't realize, however, that since he was so small his 'training' looked rather silly)

Feeling someone come up behind him, he, without turning, said, "Naruto, what do you want?"

A deeper voice chuckled. "I can assure you I'm not that immature."

Sasuke turned to the person, the tips of his ears reddening. "Kakashi-sensei." He said flatly.

The silver haired man nodded, before turning to a tree a few feet away. He gestured with his hand. "Come here."

Obediently, the young Uchiha left his punching bag behind and followed his surrogate dad over to the tree, where he plopped down.

He felt Kakashi settle down next to him and speak. "You're angry about something." He noted.

It wasn't a question. "Yes."

The silver haired man didn't say a word, just staring up at the clouds as they drifted lazily by.

Sasuke slumped on defeat. "I'm mad about a lot of things. I don't want to talk about it."

With a soft sigh, Kakashi reached over and poked the boy on the forehead. "Sasuke..."

The former Uchiha's eyes widened before he slapped his hand away, much to the shock of one silver-haired man.

In an instant, Kakashi felt the boy leap up and glare at him fiercely. "Don't you _EVER_ do that again." Kakashi was taken aback at the _anger_ this boy had inside of him, especially at such a simple action.

The young Uchiha spinned on his heel, and stormed back towards the house, presumably to find Naruto or Sakura.

Kakashi sighed dejectedly.

* * *

Sakura stared out the window, watching dejectedly as the civilians and ninja alike made their way across the busy streets to their destinations.

She laid her head in her lap and hugged her knees to her chest.

"You never answered my question, you know."

Sakura knew that mature baritone. "Sensei..." She acknowledged.

The silver haired man plopped down next to her, making the bed shake. "Care to fill me in?"

Sakura turned her emerald gaze away from the window. "Why do you went to know so badly?"

Kakashi slumped, his shoulders sagging and his demeanor changing. "I...I screwed up. I need to focus more on you as a person, and less as a shinobi. I've been treating you all too roughly and I'm sorry."

The pinkette smiled. "I'll tell you."

And so she talked. She talked about how Ami was her childhood bully, how her parents favored her over their own daughter, how Ami's parents were rich and associates of her parents. How she was 'bad' and was punished for it. How Ami came back to haunt her.

Kakashi listened with a slightly hesitant hovering, almost as though he was unsure of how to help her.

Sakura finished, looking up at him. "Thanks for listening..."

Kakashi smiled.

"...daddy."

Kakashi fainted.

(Whether it was from surprise or happiness, he will never know)

* * *

The silver haired man was practically shaking in excitement.

He looked again at the letter, trying to make sure it was for real.

_Dear Kakashi-kun,_

_Hi! I know it's been a long time, and I can't tell you much, but I've finally finished it. My latest masterpiece. _

_It's beautiful._

_I have named her "Icha Icha Summer" in honor of...something. I don't really know yet._

_But, my wonderful fan, you are the first to know! Go on down to the bookstore, I had one of my frogs send the first copies over there to be sold!_

_Jiraiya the Super Pervert_

It was real.

Oh Kami.

He had to go to the bookstore right away and-

"Senseiiiiiiii!"

Crud.

"Sensei! I'm bored! Do you have any books to read?"

...He could work with this.

_Fifteen Minutes Later... _

"What do you mean, you need to go by yourself? We'll get lost!" Naruto complained.

"Yeah." Sasuke muttered. "Why are you running off?"

Kakashi breathed deeply. _Do not murder them. Do not murder them._

"I need to go get some top-secret shinobi books. You can't come with me." He lied.

Sakura, seemingly buying the story, shrugged. "Just take us to the kids section!" She requested (read: ordered).

Kakashi almost rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine..."

_Five Minutes Later..._

"Hehehe..." Kakashi cradled the precious blue book in his hands lovingly.

Meanwhile, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura found a very interesting book.

One titled _Pranks, Gags, and Practical Jokes: The Ultimate Collection_.

Oh boy.

**Sorry about the shortness! . Couldn't think of anything else to add, and I thought this would be a good stopping point :3**

**So, I basically went and corrected a few major plot errors (in my opinion, anyway) about the story so far. I also added in some Kakashi thinking, some aftermath, and some Icha Icha obsession XD**

**Kakashi poking Sasuke's forehead... *winces* Yeah. Bad move, Daddy Kakashi.**

**And Sakura...sweetie, you will never know what power you now hold over Kakashi. :3**

**And a pranking book? Gee, I wonder what the next chapter will be about...**

**_Next Up: Come on, people, do I really need to write this? Take a wild guess._**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright, I am back with another chapter - so please people, don't kill me. I know, I know, it's been so long (what, two months? More!? O_o) and I'm sorry, but I have a single word of excuse:**

**Life.**

**Those of you who are also alive know how annoying that little word can be. -.- **

**Plus, my muse was off on vacation and wouldn't reply to any of my emails...sigh. She's a stubborn one.**

**So! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed! Another thank you to Serena24, who added me to her community! Seriously, 8 (now nine) chapters in and I'm already at 6 community adds! :D Amaaaaaazing!**

**And a quick shoutout to Scarease, who was thoughtful enough to send me a PM asking me to update :3 ...And guilt-tripped me into staying up like 2 hours finishing this. You guys owe Scarease a thank you :P Haha.**

**Since I want to keep this short for you readers, just a reminder - I'll be posting a poll shortly after I post this chapter; if you've read my profile you know what it's about! Please vote...after you finish the chapter of course! :P (I'll get into more detail below)**

**On with the story!**

Hiko was having a rotten day to begin with.

First, he woke up late. That was a big no-no for someone working in his department.

What did he mean by department? Why, the Konoha Cleanup Corps of course.

The Konoha Cleanup Corps was a civilian-based corporation that dealt with the...less fun parts of Konoha. It was filthy, it was hard, and it was humiliating. Every worker from the KCC would be subjected to immediate ridicule if spotter by the shinobi of the Leaf Village.

Being in the KCC was no cushy office job. All Corps were required to do daily rounds of public - you guessed it - cleaning.

Be it public toilets, parks, streets, garbage disposal areas, or wherever the hell people were making a mess, the KCC would clean it up. No fancy machines, no amazing jutsu, just a man's (or woman's) two hands, a mop, and a helluva lot of detergent.

It was an unspoken rule that unless you were desperate, delusional, or forced into it, no willing person joined the KCC. It was a hard job, working from 8 to 10 every day. If you did a good job, you'd get two Sundays a month off.

Yes, it was definitely a _fun_ job.

As a worker there, Hiko had an unbiased opinion on exactly why that was so. The job was UTTER. HELL.

There were no benefits besides the pay check, which was barely above the bare minimum wage. No health benefits, no insurance, not even an office space. When you worked in the KCC, your office was the streets of Konoha.

Workers at the KCC were worked to the bone. They would be on patrol, all the time, every day they worked

The one good side (not much of a good side at all) however, was that the Corps accepted anyone willing into their ranks, be them old, young, polite, rude, civilians or criminals. long as they do their job and obey their leader, the Head of Department.

Their Head of Department, Yaruno Keika, was an intimidating lady of 6'2 with the attitude of an elephant with a tooth-ache. She was brunette, tough, and scary to match, as well as lucky enough to get the easiest job in the entire department. Paperwork.

Yes, Hiko heard many complaints about how doing paperwork was a "burden" and "unholy" and "fucking irritating" but honestly, if he got to choose between cleaning ten million toilets that smelled like something had DIED in them or sign some papers, he would pick the paperwork in a heartbeat.

As some of his less-than-satisfied coworkers often said, Ms. Keika was a "lucky bitch".

But back to his day.

Second. His coffee machine broke.

As a man in his early 30's, coffee was a necessity for getting through the day alive. It was the holy grail of his life, and his machine was normally his favorite possession he owned- normally that is.

Today, all he wanted was to shove it down some irritating person's throat.

Third. He forgot to wear his coat.

It was one of those windy days where the chill seems to settle into your bones and fill your veins like liquid ice, and no matter what you do you can't seem to get warm. Now, normally Hiko was careful to watch the weather reports, but in this case he just forgot in the race to get out the door and report at their headquarters before 8.

And finally, that lead him to the current situation. He was SUPERGLUED TO A FUCKING BATHROOM WALL!

Exactly how and why this happened he didn't know. Five minutes earlier he was tiredly cleaning his 400th or so toilet when a little girl, probably five or six, asked him for directions.

She were cute, he supposed, with her doe eyes and squeaky pre-puberty , she had freaking PINK HAIR!

The girl happily nodded when he directed Kura - as she introduced herself - to the bookstore (he didn't know why her parents weren't with them but was too tired to care) and he turned around, about to get back to work, when he felt a push on his back and the next thing he knew, he was stuck to the wall with his arms awkwardly raised to his sides and his head at an unnatural angle. His face got a perfect view of the unpleasant-smelling concrete his cheek was currently smushed against.

He could hear tinkling laughter as it disappeared from his range of hearing.

That girl. She was guilty, he just knew it!

"DAMN YOU KURA!"

* * *

Sori was having a good day.

Her team had just come back from a long term mission in Kumogakure, and she was more than ready to come home.

It was a dangerous mission, classified as S-Rank, or an ANBU level mission. Now, most might wonder what three chunin and a jounin were doing on that kind of mission, but Sori and her team were special.

Unlike most teams, her squad didn't specialize in sabotage, or combat, or tracking. No, her team was trained as a infiltration team.

Since she was 8, armed with her keen deception skills, rather _mischievous_ attitude and refined genjutsu talent, she was specially trained, along with her teammates, to become one of Konoha's best infiltrators. Her official rank might be chunin, but her sensei had told her in private that it was only a cover for their ANBU-ranked skills in information gathering and infiltration.

Her teammates, Inori and Hisoka, had similar traits. Inori was a member of the Yamanaka clan, and while not part of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio, he was still formidable in his own right. His clan's mind jutsus allowed him to literally steal someone's body and blend in perfectly. But that wasn't the only part of his skill. Being a Yamanaka prodigy, he could shift through someone's thoughts without occupying their body, and could perfectly match the mannerisms of those around him. It was a barely detectable trick and very handy for passing along information on surroundings to his teammates.

Hisoka was of the Azamuku clan, originating in the distant land of Tsuki no Kuni, and was known for being mysterious and often deceptive. Due to his family's history of being either merchants dealing with the...shadier side of business, or shinobi excelling at infiltration, he grew up in a household where lying was not only allowed, it was encouraged. Sori didn't quite understand how it worked, since every question or answer could be a lie, but she supposed it was natural for Hisoka and his skill with lying got them out of more than one compromising situation.

Sori had to admit, being on a team of liars and mind readers was trying at best, but she understood that this was what they were BORN to do. This was their job, their life really. (Besides, it wasn't like she was much better.)

So honestly, Sori didn't _hate_ her team for their attitude outside of missions. In fact, sometimes she even enjoyed their banter and lie competitions.

That didn't mean it wasn't annoying however.

"Awww, I'm sorry Sori-chan, did I hurt your feelings?"

_This_ was one of those times.

"What do you mean, this is one of those times? Are you on your period or something?"

Grr...

"_No_, Inori, now get your stupid mind-reading voodoo stuff out of my head before I shove my kunai so far up your ass you'll _taste_ it." Sori growled in anger as she swatted her annoyingly cheeky teammate away.

Coming back from a mission was always trying, as the boys finally got to drop their professional behavior and return to their casual ones. And since they were deprived of it for so long, both Inori and Hisoka seemed to want to make the best of it.

Personally, Sori thought they were enjoying their freedom a bit _too_ much.

"Wow, such violence towards me Sori-chan!" Inori pouted in response to her outburst.

"Personally," Hisoka's bored drawl interrupted Sori's attempted comeback, "I think you're overreacting. Saying that Mikara-sensei is prettier than Sori isn't that much of an insult, since he still implied that you're pretty." Turning his dark green eyes her way, he continued, "Don't girls like being called pretty?"

Sori huffed. "Yes, but not in comparison to other girls!" Boys. They don't understand a woman at all...

Inori grinned. "Well then, I apologize with my wording." Turning his gaze to their sensei, who was sitting lazily in the tree next to the training grounds, he called out, "Mikara-sensei, I think you're really pretty!"

Mikara-sensei's silvery voice drew Sori's eyes from glaring at Inori to aforementioned woman. "Why thank you, Inori-kun," she laughed, "but you're a bit young for my tastes. Try that compliment with some of the older genin and you'll get a girlfriend for sure."

This time, Sori got to laugh as Inori's cheeks burned red. "T-that's not what I meant!" Glaring at the chuckling boy next to him, he yelled, "Hisoka! Help me out here!"

"Fine..." Hisoka huffed. Almost as though a lightbulb went off, a mischievous smirk overtook his exasperated face. "Sori-chan, you're still gonna beat him up, right? He's annoying."

"_Hisoka_!"

Not gracing the boy with a response, Sori swung a large uppercut at the loud mouthed blonde, sending him flying into the air and into a tree.

"What was that for, you ugly old hag!" Inori screamed.

A tic twitched on Sori's brow as she turned away from his direction in a huff. Her eyes locking on the black haired bow in front of her, she made up her mind.

KABANG!

A disgruntled Hisoka joined Inori in the tree, the latter of which was looking very put out.

"I'm out of here." Sori growled as she stomped away from the clearing. "Mikara-sensei, I'll be at training tomorrow."

A sigh drew from the tree their sensei was currently residing in. "I swear, I don't know whether to be concerned or amused." Glancing a silver eye at the two boys, both of whom looked like they were still breathing, Mikara shrugged. "They'll live."

She jumped down from her perch, and strode over to the two boys.

"You two are such idiots..."

* * *

"Ugh. Stupid boys..." Sori muttered.

The brown haired kunoichi grumbled as she stomped away from the training grounds, blades of grass being mercilessly crushed underfoot.

Sori was not a happy kunoichi.

"Seriously, this has got to be the third time this month that I've left practice early because of them! They just don't know when to quit, do they, those thick-headed little bastards..." She grumbled, completely unaware of the fact that she was talking out loud.

"I mean really, couldn't they have some sort of decency? I'm a fucking teenage girl, I have enough insecurities already without being told that my _34 year-old sensei_ is prettier than I am! Those little..."

"Those little what?"

"Eep!" Jumping in surprise, Sori turned behind her in a fright, her hand already at her kunai pouch.

What she saw before her was a rather startled, confused little boy. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." He murmured, looking rather ashamed of himself.

Letting a smile slip onto her face, Sori knelt down. "It's alright, kiddo, I was just startled, that's all." Kami above, why couldn't all boys these days be this polite and cute!? "Whatcha doing out here by yourself? Are you lost?"

The boy scratched his head. "Kinda..."

Sori looked closer at the boy. With his sunshine-blonde hair and cheery blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in happiness, the kunoichi was seriously reminded of a charming, happier, _nicer_ Inori.

Yes, she could definitely see the resemblance. Maybe he was a Yamanaka? They were the only prominent blondes in the village at the moment...

"Well, how about I walk you home?" She asked politely.

He smiled. "Thank you miss, but I really gotta find something first." His cheeks turned a pale red in slight embarrassment. "I was playing with my cousin - she's a ninja like you y'know - and she took me home for lunch and I realized that I forgot my ball back at the place with the tall trees and now she's out on a mission and I don't know what to do!" He said it all in one breath. Sori was stunned and rather impressed.

"I can help you find your ball if you want, um..." she trailed off, realizing she never asked his name.

The boy quickly caught on and supplied a cheerful, "I'm Ruto! Thanks for the help miss!"

Chuckling and internally squealing at his cuteness, she replied, "No problem Ruto, and call me Sori."

"Ok Sori-san!" He chirped.

Taking his tiny hand in hers, Sori asked, "So do you remember where the ball was?"

Ruto shook his head. "No, but I do know it was in this clearing, with this big boulder shaped like a turtle!"

The description clicked in Sori's head. "Ah, you must mean Training Ground 9. My team sometimes goes there to practice."

"Yeah, that must be it! My mommy made me a snack but I got really hungry so I went home to have lunch a- _oh no_! My mummy's gunna kill me when she finds out that I went off by m'self!" His eyes were comically wide and his lower lip trembled.

Sori was about to wrap the poor boy in a hug - he looked genuinely terrified - when a ball of blue fabric collided with her stomach and two tiny hands gripped her waist in a death hold. "Please, Sori-san, you gotta find my ball without me! I need to tell my momma where I am so she doesn't worry! I'll be right back, I promise!"

The little ball of energy was gone before Sori could even utter a response.

Shrugging, Sori headed towards her new destination, Training Ground 9. She just hoped she would find this...ball before some random genin discovered it and decided it was a good kunai target...

If she had stayed just a little longer, she would've noticed the young blonde hiding behind a tree a dozen or so feet away, his cheery innocent grin replaced with a more devious smirk. "Hook, line and sunker."

Another voice piped in, "It's 'sinker' not 'sunker' you baka!"

"Shhh, not here Suke-_chan_."

"Shut up, Ruto-_chan_."

_Five minutes later..._

Stepping into the tree-filled clearing, Sori examined her surroundings carefully, looking for some kind of round object. Her heart sank as she suspected the ball was long gone.

Looking towards the strangely turtle-shaped boulder, she decided looking behind it wasn't a bad idea before breaking the news to the little boy, whom still hadn't returned.

I hope he's ok...

Lost in her thoughts, Sori didn't notice the (rather obvious) ninja wire splayed across the training grounds.

Sccccccreeetch!

Her foot catching on the wire, Sori fell - hard - onto the ground, the wire digging into the skin around her ankle painfully.

_Ninja wire? But..._

She realized it too late.

TRAP!

The sudden realization caused Sori to look up, only to see a bucket full of something (was it bombs? Poison? Kunai? Acid?) tumbling towards her. Reacting as any teenage girl probably would, she let out a shrill scream and shielded her face.

A tumble of wire and a bucket later, a shocked Sori stood drenched to the bone on the ground.

_W-water? No...it smells weird...almost like spoiled...milk!?_

_But..that made no sense! Unless..._

_It was a prank?_

Sori felt rage well up inside her. How dare that little boy take advantage of her emotional state and her kindness! If she ever saw that 'Ruto' again...

Thundering footsteps alerted her to the three people approaching the grounds. Further examination revealed them to be her teammates themselves.

Inori, always the one to jump to conclusions, arrived first, kneeling down and examining her with an intensity that was almost unnerving. "Sori, are you alright? Are you injured?" He asked urgently, lifting one of her arms to inspect.

"Sori, say something! Are you alright?" There was Hisoka, right behind Inori as always. Surprisingly enough, Sori detected honest panic and sincerity in his tone - being a constant receiver of his lies, she could tell the difference.

"Boys, give her some space. She's obviously overwhelmed." Mikara-sensei ordered sternly. Her silver eyes, however, betrayed her concern. "Why are you soaking wet?" She asked confusedly.

"I-I'm alright." Sori managed to summon her voice. "It was...I don't know. Some kind of prank, I think."

Two pairs of hands helped her up, and she shot them grateful smiles.

If there was one thing to thank those kids for...it was her forgiving her teammates. Every girl loves to be doted on and cared for, after all.

But still...

She smelled. She was soaked and humiliated.

She smelled.

She was embarrassed and covered in spoiled milk.

THAT BRAT WOULD PAY.

"DAMN YOU, RUTO!"

* * *

Kakashi was having a strange day.

Icha Icha Summer was amazing, of course, since Jiraiya never failed to disappoint. Kakashi almost drooled at the amazing chapter where the main character, Himonoshi, had five super sexy, amazing girls as his new slaves, and _oh_, the things he did with them!

*cough* Anyways.

Kakashi, holding the bold, yellow book in his hand, whistled a merry tune as he jogged down the streets, a perversive grin stretched behind his mask.

Oh yeah.

"Senseiiiiiiiii~!"

Oh no.

Coaxing an eye-smile onto his face, he turned to face his cute little demons- _protégés_.

"Why hello, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke."

Narrowing his eye suddenly, he noticed the strangely sheepish looks on their faces.

"Ok, what did you do?"

"Nothing, sensei!" Sakura chirped innocently. "Why do you ask?"

"Because," Kakashi said dryly, "you look like you robbed someone."

Naruto let out a nervous giggle. "Please, sensei. We haven't robbed anyone...yet." He grinned mischievously.

"And who is your 'victim', exactly?"

"Uh...no one!"

Kakashi raised a single eyebrow. "Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

"Yup!" Naruto and Sakura grinned cheekily - and in unison.

Kakashi scowled. "That was a rhetorical question."

"But we answered anyways!" Sakura grinned.

The silver-haired man studied the girl carefully. "You know, you're way too smart to be just a 6 year old."

She stuck her tongue out. "We were out on the streets and there was a public library near one of our old bases. The boys, being the barbarians that they are, ("Hey!") focused more on fighting, while I wanted to be intelligent enough to survive. We kinda balanced each other out."

"And half the time, I don't even know the words she's saying." Naruto added.

"Wait...bases?" Kakashi was very confused.

So they had multiple bases...but why move? Why not go to an orphanage? There were still so many mysteries surrounding the trio, Kakashi had to answer them.

"Yeah, bases."

"Wanna go home and you can tell me more about what it was like on the streets?"

The immediately sobered. "You really wanna know?"

"Of course." He sent them a gentle smile - which, he had to note, he couldn't even MUSTER for most of the Konoha population - and, patting their backs gently, began ushering them in the direction of his apartment.

Both sported small grins, grins that for some reason seemed more genuine than the cheery ones they always showed the world.

"Then let's go- wait, where's Sasuke?"

"Eh, he's come around eventually. He knows Konoha pretty well - though not as well as me!"

Kakashi shrugged, before grabbing the children and shushining away.

* * *

Hidden behind a pole a few blocks down, Sasuke giggled. In his hands he clutched a small, dark brown wallet - to be more specific, Kakashi's wallet.

"He didn't even notice."

Turning down the road, he grinned. "Super-awesome earpieces, here we come!"

* * *

Settling down on the couch in his - their - living room, Sakura began the tale. "So. Basically, Naruto here got kicked out of the Konoha orphanage. He a was loud-mouthed, annoying, and refused to give in or listen to ANYONE. Needless to say, this rubbed some of the orphanage employees the wrong way. And when I say some, I mean all of them." Sakura deadpanned.

Naruto pouted.

"When the three of us first got together, Sasuke suggested going to the orphanage together, since at least that way we'd be fed and wouldn't be alone. But since Naruto got himself kicked out, he couldn't show his face there without probably getting beat up. And we weren't just going to abandon him, so we decided to live on the streets together. We just salvaged things, borrowed things- ("Stole," Naruto corrected) - and basically spent a good 4 or so months making our first little base. We weren't experts on the streets at first, of course, as a matter off act most of the time we got caught and chased away - one time a ninja scolded us and he was SCARY. But yeah, eventually we learned from our mistakes and we are now the experts on street smarts."

Kakashi had to admit, he was intrigued.

"So yeah, our first base. It was in this abandoned shed, and we added traps and living space and stuff. But eventually, people found us. I'm guessing either thugs, thieves, or just really mean civilians. Anyways, they tore it down and chased us away. We all suffered some injuries, ranging from a couple artificial scrapes to a broken wrist. That was when we decided that in order to survive, we needed to defend ourselves.

"So Naruto - since he was the best at stealing - got us a book on shinobi arts. It was an academy textbook, I think. Poor little genin. But we learned, and we even managed to find some discarded ninja tools - that is, once we knew what they were and were able to recognize them. Sasuke was always the best at weaponry, while Naruto was just better at hand-to-hand.

"So we kept moving, since obviously we couldn't stay hidden forever, eventually made our seventh base over at the alleyway. I went scavenging, but tried to wander farther this time and got lost, and so I looked for a nice-looking ninja, and you happened to be there. And you know what happened next." Sakura finished.

"That's impressive," Kakashi admitted. "You're obviously proficient at your fields. Some questions I've been meaning to ask you though...would you mind me interrogating you all a bit?"

The two surrogate siblings glanced at each other before shrugging.

"Sure."

"I don't see why not."

"Great." Now, being a ninja, Kakashi loved finding out information about people, be them ally or enemy. Did that sound stalkerish? Yes. Was it the truth? Yup.

"Sakura, how do you know about Tsunade-sama's style of fighting?"

...

Sakura looked genuinely confused. "What about Tsunade's style of fighting?"

Kakashi stared. "Don't you know about the famous ninja of our village? You read a book..." he said helplessly.

"Well," Sakura huffed, "The book only had their names and stuff, nothing about their abilities. Besides, I'm a six year old." She scowled at the copy-nin, something which Kakashi noted made her look extremely cute, like a riled-up kitten.

"Then how did you manage to copy it?"

"I didn't copy it!" She said indignantly. "I just channeled chakra to my fists and pounded stuff. It was like encasing your hand in iron, and makes a 6 year old's taijutsu MUCH scarier." She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks,

"Well," Kakashi snickered, "I will be showing you her fighting style once you get into the Academy. It's important for every ninja to be proficient in taijutsu, after all."

"But what about me?" Naruto whined, apparently fed up with being ignored.

Kakashi patted his head. "Since your the more...unorthodox one, you'll get to create your own style."

"AWESOME!" Naruto screeched, the older man and young girl wincing in unision.

"Take it easy on my eardrums, kid..." Kakashi muttered. "So." He immediately switched topics. "Naruto, you have a ridiculous amount of chakra. Do you have any idea why?"

The blonde, for once, hesitated. "...No." He said finally.

Shaking his head internally, Kakashi shrugged. If he didn't want to say, that was his decision. "Well, your main focus will be chakra control, since you'll be a total juggernaut if you can learn to harness the chakra you have inside you."

Naruto grinned at the sound of 'juggernaut'. "Cool!" Then, after a few seconds... "Wait...what's a juggernoot?"

Sakura giggled, before replying. "It means that you'll be strong and stuff."

"ALRIGHT! NARUTO'S GUNNA BE A JUGGERN-... J-JUGGERNU..._REALLY POWERFUL_, DATTEBAYO!"

The silver haired man felt a peculiar ringing in his ears as he shook the stars out of his vision.

Clapping his hands together, he smiled and said, "Well, I need to go read my p- go and finish up some top secret shinobi business. You kids continue whatever you were doing."

"Oh, we will sensei..."

Naruto looked evil.

And that honestly scared Kakashi more than Anko with a wip and two rolls of duct tape.

His unrivaled instinct kicking in, the copy-cat nin rushed through handseals and disappeared in a flash; the kids staring at the spot he was at a moment before with wide smirks.

"Hehehehehe..." They cackled.

* * *

"That will be seven hundred ryo, please." The cashier man said in a bored tone.

Reaching for his wallet, Kakashi prepared to pay.

Hs hand grasped nothing but air.

His other pocket? Nothing.

His shinobi pouch? Nope.

He panicked.

Then, Kakashi remembered. Being the analytical person he was, he immediately deducted what had happened.

"DAMN YOU SASUKE!"

* * *

3 hours, twenty-two pranks and one merry chase later...

"That was amazing." Naruto grinned as he plopped down onto their bed, smirking from ear to ear.

"Indeed." Sasuke too lied down on the bed, scooting over so the pinkette could join them.

"That was really fun," Sakura admitted, "But I was seriously scared that those civilians were going to hang us from their clothes line like that guy from our 4th base..."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto looked over their loot.

During the perfect..._distractions_ (read: chaos) that their pranks caused, their little team had taken to pillaging candy, stuffed toys, and random handfuls of pocket change from unsuspecting civilians. They alsomiraculously managed to find items that had mysteriously 'gone missing' only a few minutes before they showed up. Most ninja, however, they avoided, since even a fresh genin could stand up to a bunch of barely trained 6 year olds.

Their collection was quite impressive however.

Five lollipops, three jawbreakers, seven chocolate bars, four _melted_ chocolate bars, four stuffed teddy bears, (surprisingly) two baseballs, two hundred ryo, and their grand prize:

A fuzzy, dog-sized, stuffed giraffe.

Naruto had no idea how that random adult managed to find one, but once they returned her 'lost' house keys, she was more than willing to give it to the sweet, innocent group of toddlers that helped her out of a bad situation.

The blonde's smirk grew, if that was possible. Innocent indeed...

"Kura, go put the bag on the dresser," Sasuke muttered, turning so his back was against the wall and closed his eyes, "I don't w'nna."

"Fine," the pinkette pouted before - in a very annoyed manner - slouching out of the bed and grabbed the bag, careful not to spill its contents.

Plopping it down onto the bed, she yawned. Despite her high intelligence, she was still a young girl, and all small children need naps.

Nappy time.

She closed her eyes and slept.

* * *

"Get up."

The trio were rudely awakened by a strangely serious and stern Kakashi. "We have a problem. Go get dressed now." He ordered, his face set into a scowl that, despite most of the village being familiar to, was totally foreign to the three children.

Sensing the urgency and annoyance in his voice, the three kids hastily complied and before five minutes were up they had breakfast-to-go shoved in their faces.

"Eat up quickly. We need to leave as soon as possible."

"W-what's wrong?" Sakura asked nervously, her stutter returning due to her anxiety.

"The Hokage needs to see us. And from what I heard, he's not happy."

**And there you have it folks. Karma is a bitch to team seven, as they shall soon shall find out. Uh oh, looks like old man Hiruzen is pissed. What will happen now!? *wimpy dramatic noises***

**As for the two long prank stories...no idea where they came from. More backstory then you wanted? Probably. Did they suck? Probably. Did I remove them? No, 'cause I'm a lazyass :S**

**Buuuut I did give you some more insight on the mystery that is future team seven! That counts for something, right!?**

**This chapter was most pure comedy/crack, so I hope it elicited at least a chuckle or two, that would make me happy :)**

**Oh!**

**And WE HAVE SO MANY REVIEWS LAST TIME! X33**

**Me like reviews :3**

**Alright, now onto more serious matters. And boy, have I got a LOT of them.**

**First - I have posted a poll. It's basically about whether or not I should update the title and/or summary of this story. Personally, I find it a bit off the mark, as the story has kinda gone in a completely different direction since I first made it so... *sheepish look* I would really appreciate all of your opinions on it, so please tare the 20 seconds to go to my profile and VOTE! :D God, it sounds like I'm running for office or something haha.**

**Second - I have been extremely dissatisfied with my earlier chapters. Like I-wanna-just-throw-em-in-the-trash-and-retry-them dissatisfied. :/ There are so many OOC characters, plot holes, stuff that just plain doesn't make sense, the whole deal. I suppose that's the life of an author, always the toughest critic on yourself :I But before I do anything drastic, I want to know your guys' opinion. Since I don't wanna make ANOTHER poll, you guys can just tell me what you think in a review/PM. I really want to hear from you all, guys! So puhleaaase?**

**Third - ...This is seriously me-demanding-feedback-from-you-guys chapter. Sorry about that ^^' But I want to know YOUR IDEAS on what you want to happen in their Academy/Genin days! Any particular character interactions? Any plot lines or drama or badguys? TELL ME and I will do my best to incorporate it in, that is, if the idea doesn't suck :P Lol, just kidding. All ideas are amazing! :D**

**_Next Up: Hokage-sama is apparently pissed at Kakashi and his kids...this is definitely not going to be good._**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	10. Chapter 10

As the swirling leaves surrounded him, Kakashi realized, for the first time since _that_ day, he was really, truly scared for another's life.

The Sandaime was rarely mad. As a matter of fact, he was one of the kindest and most level-headed people Kakashi new.

Haing been Hokage once before, as well as the head of the Sarutobi clan, Hiruzen was excellent in being level-headed, collected, and making intellectually sound decisions.

If he was pissed, this was _bad_.

A sneaking suspicion told Kakashi that this was his little incident with the brat of a child who was picking on Sakura...not good. Definitely not good.

Kakashi tightened his grip on his three kids just a little. They gave a slight yelp of surprise but clutched his hand tighter too. He sensed them trembling, and immediately felt bad - after all, it was partially his fault they were confused and didn't known what was going on.

The leaves began to clear, and Kakashi braced himself for what would happen next.

What if the kids were to go to rehab?

What if he was stripped of his rank AGAIN?

What if the kids got _taken away from him?_

Chilling fear anchored itself in his heart. Those kids...they had somehow managed to worm their little way into his heart, and he was afraid - _terrified_ \- that he would lose them.

He couldn't lose them.

With those three, he could laugh and smile and rage and learn and teach and all the things that came with being a surrogate father.

No.

He had lost his family once, there will _not_ be a second time.

Kakashi thought of Rin, and Obito, and Minato-sensei, and his father - _those kids would not leave him too._

His feet touched the ground, and the three kids in his arms gasped slightly, disoriented from the Shushin.

Kakashi straightened them, and prayed to Kami that the Sandaime wasn't mad at them.

"Kakashi. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. Thank you for coming."

The copy-nin shivered as Sarutobi's voice echoed in the room. It was deceptively calm, with a dangerously steely edge.

Yup, he was pissed.

_Fuck_.

"Hokage-sama." Kakashi muttered, bowing slightly. The three siblings followed suit, murmuring along with him.

The copy-nin took a moment to examine his surroundings. There were three others in the room - the brat from before, with the plum colored hair, (he was smug to see that her hair was yet to completely grow back) and two others. The first was a man with bright red hair, scowling. He was tall, but still midget-sized in comparison to Kakashi's tall structure and domineering posture. The second one was a woman, with long blue hair and hard grey eyes, who was sizing up him and the three kids. He assumed they were the brat's parents.

Blue and red made purple, he supposed.

The two were standing rather close to the little brat, and displaying their distaste for him in a rather blatant manner, if their poisonous glares and clenched hands were anything to go by.

"So, now that we are all present... I believe we all know what the circumstances around this incident are. Setsuna-san, if you may...?"

The blue haired woman cleared her throat. "My daughter was minding her own business, playing happily, when that...that white haired monster over there attacked her with his little demon entourage! Her beautiful hair was ruined, she was soaking wet and covered in scrapes, and she returned home absolutely frightened!"

"Setsuna-san, that is a completely biased report. What your daughter seemingly failed to mention is that she threatened my daughter with physical harm, before acting on said words and causing her injury. My sons and I stumbled upon this, and we acted accordingly, as any distraught parent would. And you find fault in this?" Kakashi absently noted how he began referring to the kids as his "children", but didn't conern himself with it, focusing on more important matters.

"That...that _demon_ girl and her siblings attacked my beautiful daughter! And their father, a shinobi nonetheless, partook in the violence! This is an act of violation of civilian rights, and I request that they all be suspended from duty!" She shrieked, her voice shrill with rage.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, keeping his cool - if THIS was what he was up against, he didn't know why he was so scared - "Firstly, Setsuna-san, these three aren't even on the roster yet. Civilian children beating one another up is fairly normal - frowned upon, yes, but not a crisis. Therefor, civilian violence is not a shinobi issue. Second, did you forget that she threatened to permanently harm Sakura-chan here - quite graphic violence, if I recall? Being a father, I believe it is a familial right to respond appropriately. Third, your daughter hardly suffered injuries beyond a couple scrapes and a bad haircut. I don't believe this is too big of an issue, especially if she is planning to be a ninja. We must be prepared for much worse than this."

The blue haired woman sputtered indignantly, immediately retorting, "My Ami-chan would NEVER do such an atrocious thing like hurting-"

"I believe," Kakashi interjected dryly, "that was the most overused and cliche line a mother could say."

Growling, the woman shouted, "So, because my Ami wants to be a ninja, means it's ok for an older, stronger shinobi to _harass_ her?"

"Of course not," the Sandame interrupted smoothly. "However, I will say that the kids are mostly guiltless as this kind of thing is fairly common with civilian children. If I were to punish every bully in Konoha, well, I would be much busier than I am now.

"However, there will be punishments all around."

* * *

"Damn it, where the hell is Pinky?" Anko growled as she paced outside of Kakashi's apartment. She had been waiting for thirty minutes, goddammit!

_It's not like Pinky to be late...from what I know about her she's very punctual. Hell, she was super excited to start learning some ninja tricks! Something's wrong._

Grimacing, the snake mistress tugged at her overcoat irritatedly. The day was hot and stuffy, her coat was hot, she was bored and tired and really wanted some fucking dango!

"A-Anko-san? If I might ask...what are you doing?" A timid voice came from behind her, and Anko spun on her heel, whipping a kunai into the face of one very nervous looking boy.

The young man - ok, he was older than a 'boy' - had brown hair and hazel eyes, wearing the standard chunin flak jacket and held a book in one hand.

"Who the hell're you?" Anko questioned gruffly, putting the kunai away once she verifed the Leaf insignia on his forehead protector.

"I'm S-Sako Haruhi, Anko-san. I-I'm a former student of Kakashi's."

"What's this? Kakashi isn't much of a teacher, from what I can tell." Anko commented, folding her hands in front of her chest.

The young man managed a smile. "He was my tutor from the Academy, since I needed help with my chakra control and Kakash's was the most advanced at the time...despite him being younger and multiple years ahead of me." He smirked. "I was incredibly embarrassed - being shown up by that dude! But he was a surprisingly good teacher."

"Ah, no wonder he kept that a secret. Kakashi hates looking soft." She raised an eyebrow. "But why're you stopping by? Aren't you a chunin instructor?" She pointed to his uniform.

Sako actually laughed. "It's Saturday, remember? Besides, Kakashi, believe it or not, asked me to come here and help him - imagine that! The Copy-Nin himself, Sharingan no Kakashi, asking _me_ for help!"

"Now I'm interested." The snake mistress smirked. "What could he need help with?"

"Dealing with kids."

"..."

"I know!"

"You're kidding."

"Not a single bit."

"AHAHAAHAHAHA! I'll never let him live this down! _Never_!"

* * *

The Sanaime gestured towards the kids. "Firstly, a warning to you children. You're all aspiring shinobi, and this kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the future. Is that understood?"

The four children nodded, quickly scared by the stern look on the normally kind old man's face.

"Setsuna-san, Takao-san, this is also a warning. I will not tolerate nor be fooled by favoritism in a serious case." The couple nodded, albeit bitterly.

"Kakashi-san, I'm afraid the most sever consequences will be for you. You are well aware of the usual punishment for civilian terrorization, but due to the circumstances they will be slightly lighter than normal. I have a high S-Rank solo mission that needs to be completed, but all my ANBU are currently occupied, except for your team, which is searching for a new member. Since this is a solo mission, they obviously cannot be sent. Therefor, I will temporarily reinstate you for this single mission. Afterwards, you are banned from any missions above D-Ranks for a month. I will discuss the custody of your adopted children with you on a later date."

Kakashi nodded grimly. It was better than he expected, he supposed, since the custody of his kids were still yet to be determined. He still had time to convince Hiruzen to let him formally adopt them, as soon as they turned twelve and were considered 'grown-ups' in the shinobi world. Then, they could leave their families as they pleased and if they chose to, live with him.

The mission would be a pain in the ass but one he could deal with. D-Ranks sounded very unappetizing but he could always opt to not do any, he had enough revenue from earlier missions to get him by. The kids were way he was really worried for and they would be fine as well.

He still had time.

Noticing the parent's smug faces caused Kakashi's slightly relieved mood to turn into an angry one. They were amused by his, he supposed, but he certainly wasn't.

"When is this mission, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi questioned.

The Hokage reached for a scroll. "As soon as possible. Your instructions are inn he mission scroll." He passed the scroll to Kakashi, who took it firmly. "I expect excellent results."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I leave immediately."

Sarutobi glanced towards the six others in the room. "You're all dismissed." He spoke to his three kids in particular, "Do you three need any help getting home?" He asked, much more kindly than before. The three kids looked shocked and scared, and Sakura's eyes looked watery. Kakashi wanted nothing more than to reach oh and comfort her but here he could not, not with the Hokage's mission.

His eyes widened. Who would care for them?

Suddenly, Kakashi realized it was Saturday and Anko would come by to teach Sakura. They could stay with her if needed and if all else failed he could send Pakkun to one of his ANBU friends, like Yuugao or Samai.

"No thanks." Naruto spoke for all of them, in a rather subdued tone. "We know how to get back. Ready guys?" With affirmative nods, the three Shushined back to Kakshi's apartment and left a proud father, two stunned parents, one jealous kid and a surprised and impressed Hokage in their wake.

* * *

Anko, leaning against the door in absolute boredom, was suddenly ambushed by a blur of pink. Tiny arms wrapped themselves tightly around her torso. "Anko-sensei!" The girl cried, obviously distraught. "W-we..."

"What's wrong?" Anko asked urgently, getting concerned. Sakura was trembling, and her eyes were squeezed shut with tears leaking out. "Are you hurt?"

"No..." Naruto murmured, looking distraught. "Kakashi just got in big trouble and we don't know when we'll get to see him again..." He clenched his fists.

Anko looked at them, confused but sympathetic. "Let's go inside." She said kindly, nodding towards Sako as well.

* * *

Once inside, the three began telling their tale in babbling voices, since they didn't quite understand what was going on.

"And the annoying lady with blue hair-"

"-the red haired man was all scowly-"

"-Hokage-sama looked really mad-"

"-and Kakashi-sensei got a mission-"

"-they said daddy had to go on an S-Rank one because-"

"-he can only do D-Ranks-"

"-but he didn't do anything wrong!"

Anko was being bombarded but could get the gist of it. "So Kakashi beat up some civilians who were hurting Sakura, and Hokage-sama chewed him out for it?" She chuckled. "Just like Kakashi, always getting himself into trouble. Reckless dumba- er, dummy."

Sakura whispered, curled up on the couch, "It's all my fault...I'm so weak and I couldn't use anything daddy's been teaching us! I'm so sorry!" She sniffed.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. I'm sure Kakashi-sensei doesn't regret it, and neither should you. That girl had it coming." Sasuke spoke, the first time since they had been called to the office.

"You bet your ass she did." Naruto growled in agreement. Anko smacked her forehead at censoring herself when they were just as corrupt. "I still steaming over that. Kura-chan, have you told Anko about it yet?"

The pinkette shook her head. "I'm sorry, sensei, but...I'm just not ready yet."

Anko nodded understandingly. "It's fine, Pinky, I know the feeling. But you three won't have your guardian around, so I can keep an eye on you guys. Come with me to my place."

The three nodded excitedly at the prospect of seeing Anko's house. From the other side of the couch, there was an awkward cough. Saku was sitting there, probably unsure of what to do.

"Sako, sorry about this but Kakashi's not going to be around for your lessons, I'll let you know when he is." Nodding, the young man stood and Shushined away.

**Ta-da...no, not really. This is not one of my best chapters, it's pathetically short and not very well written but I promised myself I'd get something out before Christmas is over so here we are. I'm currently on vacation so different timezone, so it's not Christmas quite yet.**

**In case you haven't noticed, I'm moving all future AN's to the bottom, for reader's convenience since my AN's are long as hell.**

**So! We reached 200 reviews, thank you everyone! I love you all :)**

**I now have a special thingy to do - since the 222nd review, an amazing number, is coming up, whoever gets the lucky number will get a special sneak peek at some of my behind-the-scenes writing schemes, your choice which one! I've decided to do this kind of thing once every 10 chapters, because. Coolness, huh? Maybe? Eh, hopefully someone out there is interested enough to care :I**

**I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or just a fantastic winter break. It's the season of happiness and giving, and here is my present to you all :)**

**_Next up: Living with Anko is...interesting, to say the least._**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**HawaiianSunsets**


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto couldn't see anything. He felt his eyes open and close, felt them moving from side to side, but there was absolutely nothing but darkness.

He began to panic. Was he blind? Trapped? Alone? Probably all three. His panicked breathing was the only thing he could register, going in and out startlingly fast.

Where was Sakura and Sasuke? And Kakashi-sensei? Had he been kidnapped by someone!?

He opened his mouth to scream, but before he could he was interrupted.

Suddenly, there was a bright burst of light, like a sparkler, and he could see a blurry image in front of him. He flinched at the brightness, but focused himself on the little light in front of him.

His first thought after seeing the light was "_Ow_. Bright." He voiced it out loud, surprisingly. The sound of his voice was...calming, surprisingly.

His second thought was "Um...so I'm not blind. Huh."

His third thought was "Ok, _what's going on_?!"

Squinting, Naruto looked on with his blurry vision at the scene in front of him. It was like watching a tiny movie encased in a glowing area. There was a man and a woman. The woman had...red hair? Orange? Heck, it could be purple. And the man was blonde, maybe brown haired. Something loomed over them, something huge. He could see bright burning eyes, red, on its head, and it fanned out behind the two people. He felt fear and helplessness. What was going on? Who were they?

The entire scene was from the ground pointing upward. He was...lying on the ground?

The two were talking. Naruto couldn't hear them though, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Were they mute? Obviously he could hear his own voice, but then why couldn't he hear them?

The woman suddenly lurched, and the man caught her. He couldn't help but cry out in concern for the people in front of him.

Naruto still couldn't hear anything, but the _thing_ lifted its head up and roared, and the man and woman were thrown back.

A rush of horrible, horrible chakra washed over his senses. It was tinged with darkness, filled with hate and scorn and anger and the burning desire to crush and kill EVERYONE-

The energy coursed through him as Naruto clenched his teeth. These feelings weren't his! Someone was forcing them on him! What the heck was going on!?

Naruto gasped as the feeling left. Suddenly, he wasn't suspended anyone, and in fact he was lying on the ground and encased in something tight and warm. He couldn't move and strangely felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He even heard a baby's wailing...which was him? Why was he crying? He wasn't feeling sad, he wasn't even trying to cry! Naruto tried but couldn't seem to stop.

Above him, further off in the distance it seemed, was the man and woman from before. They were equally blurry, though now Naruto could guess that the blurriness was from his own tears. The redheaded woman was turned towards the man, and her face was moving as if she was shouting. He couldn't hear anything but his own cries. Behind them erupted the burning orange-red thing. He tried to cry out but nothing came except shrieks and wails. Suddenly, there was red soaking the ground. He had to help them!

Trying to get out of his bindings, Naruto squirmed helplessly. His face continued to move with a will of its own, crying and yelling like a little baby. It was, for a lack of better terms, just _weird_.

The beast disappeared from sight, and he suddenly felt something tingle on his abdomen but couldn't look down. It was like he was frozen, suspended in space. Suddenly his chakra reserves spiked sharply, and his entire core was burning with that same demonic chakra and it _hurt_!

Vision tinged with red, Naruto couldn't help but cry out in agony. It was _burning_ him, from the inside out. It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it HURT!

The man and woman rushed over, stumbling it seemed, and kneeled before him. Through his red tinted gaze he could see the two were worried. The man did something with his hands - probably a jutsu - and the pain stopped, so suddenly that he almost gasped with relief, but he could still feel the chakra, surging inside him. His body tingled from the phantom pain, now a distant memory. What the hell was going on!?

The woman reached out, hesitantly reaching to stroke his head, and he could almost feel the ghost of a hand touching his forehead, feel the warmth and care from that woman. Obviously, the woman knew him or cared for him in some way, and that made Naruto feel...happy, almost. There WERE grown-ups out there who cared about his existence!

The man suddenly fell, sharply, and the woman caught him. For a second, he got an image of clarity. The woman in front of him was beautiful, with long scarlet hair and fair skin streaked with blood and dust. He could see her bright, lavender eyes - they were really pretty - filled with tears as she examined the - blonde, he could finally see - man, whose cerulean eyes were locked on hers. The man told the woman something, before weaving a hand seal. The woman placed her hands on his and he could feel chakra radiating off her, the last of her reserves. Placing a kiss on Naruto's forehead, the woman said something to him - something meaningful, and it killed Naruto that he couldn't tell what - before everything went fuzzy again and he was suddenly being whisked away into darkness.

The next time he could see clearly, he was on the ground at somewhere completely foreign. He saw someone rush up to him, an blurry figure with a bearing and gait that he could've sworn was familiar, but couldn't place the name or face. Then, everything went dark.

* * *

The next scene he came upon was much more familiar - it was their fourth hideout, back when they were on the streets.

Their fourth hideout was behind a dumpster near the back of Konoha, far away from the Hokage Tower and and central shops. They didn't have any walls, but there was some soft blankets that an old lady named Kae gave to them. She was kind, really kind, and would sometimes bake them bread to eat. Naruto recalled that she was one of the kindest souls he ever met.

He was sitting on the floor, on top of his makeshift bed, while examining one of the books Sakura had pillaged from the library, a civilian vocabulary book. She was a terrifyingly adept reader, he recalled, and loved books to the point of obsession. Though she never had much tutelage, her parents had given her a private tutor when she was young, and Sasuke had the same treatment as well. It was thanks to them that he could read or write at all.

The memory in front of him, he realized, was one of the rough nights where Sasuke and Sakura were both plagued with nightmares - Sasuke of his clan and Sakura of her abusive parents.

Naruto remembered feeling guilty because yes, he didn't have any parents, but he was never in as much pain as they were and he couldn't really relate. Sakura had always told him, however, that him just being there was a comfort to them both, even Sasuke. Though he apparently refused to admit to such a thing.

Naruto drank in the familiar scene, counting down to when his sister would come out to talk with him. It was one of the fondest memories he had of their time in the streets.

Five, four, three, two, one-

"Naruto-nii," a young Sakura appeared in front of him, her eyes teary, "Can...can I just talk to you? I don't wanna be alone," she whispered. Her voice was teary.

"'Course, Kura-chan. C'mhere." Naruto felt his body move and the words echo, even though he himself didn't say them. It was...weird. Just like before.

"I had a nightmare. It was really scary and now I'm afraid to go back to sleep."

Naruto was silent, waiting for her to continue.

"It was about Mommy and Daddy...they really scare me, nii-chan!"

"I know, Kura-chan."

"Naruto-nii, do you think I was a bad kid? Is that why Mommy and Daddy always had t-those b-b-bottles of nasty stuff and would hit me with them? Was I doing something wrong?"

Naruto still felt anger resonate through him at those words. "Of course not, Kura-chan. You're so nice and stuff, they were probably just lame old geezers who didn't deserve you as a daughter."

"B-But they always said I was a 'demon child', nii-chan. That I would shame the family. Why would they say that?" Sakura's voice was broken-hearted.

"I don't know, Kura-chan. But don't listen to them, okay? They're wrong. You're not a demon."

"Are you sure?"

"Totally sure. Just you wait, when you become a super strong ninja, they'll never talk bad about you again!"

Sakura let out a giggle. "Yeah, I'm gonna be the strongest ninja EVER! Just you wait, Naruto-nii! I'll even be stronger than you!"

"We'll see about that, Kura-chan. I'M gonna be the best ninja, and I won't hold back against ANYONE. Not even you!" He rubbed her hair.

The girl was silent for a while, before speaking up frantically.

"Thank you, nii-chan. You're-you're one of the coolest, nicest people in the world, a-and I don't know what I'd do without you!" She burst out, and Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Kura-chan! You're the coolest, nicest sister in the world!"

He felt warmth in his chest form the kind words she had spoken, but suddenly the world twisted and he was looking at another image.

* * *

This time it was Sasuke, only more recently. It was when he found out that his family hadn't banished him. They had gone back home afterwards, with Sasuke disappearing to go to the yard. Sakura, concerned, asked Naruto to go find him.

"But Sasuke," Naruto felt himself saying, "If they didn't banish you, why aren't you going back? Don't you love your family?"

"No."

"N-No? But you always said how much you loved and admired Itac-"

"I did once, but never again! He _betrayed_ me!"

"But, Sasuke! Weren't you listening? He said he was looking for you and never found you! Did you see how _relieved_ he was? You even seemed happy then!"

"Well, things change! He-he...he was being a jackass, and it took me until now to get it!"

Naruto recalled that he had never heard Sasuke that angry before.

"My clan was horrible to me! If I did something wrong my father would beat me! They made me train in taijutsu for hours when I was three! I never loved that place, I was just told it was the best and I believed everything they fed me!"

"The worst of all was my brother! He knew I wasn't banished and did NOTHING. He's an ANBU, he should've been able to find three runaway kids! But he left me, alone, in the streets, for YEARS! Years, Naruto!"

"Sasuke, you're being unreasonable! Your clan didn't do anything w-"

"_Shut up_!"

The Naruto from the memory shut up.

"I've seen their hatred for everyone else in this village. I've heard how they hate Hokage-sama, how they don't wanna share their power with anyone else. It's messed up!"

"Sasuke! You're getting so upset! They're your _family_!"

"That clan wanted nothing but power. My mother and my brother was the only one in the entire clan who was nice to me, and she still loved Itachi more than me!" Sasuke was on a rant now. "I finally get why the Uchiha are so hated and feared in this village. They're a bunch of _bastards_."

Naruto had been gaping at this point.

"My family is messed up and doesn't care about me, not anymore. You and Sakura are my only real family, and it took until now for me to get it."

* * *

The next scene was about an hour later, once Sasuke had screamed himself hoarse ranting and Naruto had screamed himself hoarse trying to reason with him. Finally, for the first time Naruto had ever seen, Uchiha Sasuke broke down crying. Real, ugly, torturous crying.

"Sasuke..."

"It hurts. It _hurts_, Naruto." The whisper was desperate and absolutely begging to be understood.

"I know."

"H-He..." Naruto waited.

"H-He didn't want me to go back..." Finally, _finally_, Naruto understood the glaringly fake grin Sasuke had given his brother before he left.

* * *

The final scene was only for a couple seconds, barely enough to get a good glance.

But it was enough.

Naruto's world was bathed in red. The smell of death hung on every corner of the room he was suddenly in, and bloody handprints and drips of scarlet clung to the walls like sickening graffiti. There was a flickering light above him, illuminating the center of the room.

Three very human, very familiar, very _dead_ bodies.

The boy screamed.

* * *

Naruto gasped as he came to, sweat beading on his forehead and his hands clenching the sheets. His entire dream - no, nightmare - was the most vivid he had ever encountered, and it scared him.

He frantically searched the dark room for his siblings, relieved to hear Sasuke's slow, steady breathing next to him. Sakura was to the far right, and she too seemed peaceful.

Naruto breathed deeply.

The blonde haired man and red haired woman, Sakura's moment with him, Sasuke's breakdown, and his family's murder.

It was all so real.

He had to stop thinking about such dark topics. He was Naruto, the cheerful, ridiculous nut job with a million pranks planned out at any given moment. Nightmares weren't part of the deal. Besides, he made Kura and Sasuke happy. He couldn't afford to be unhappy.

He took another deep breath. So much was in that dream, so many strange things. I was unnerving.

Remembering something, he hesitantly pulled his shirt up and looked at his stomach. Just like always, the strange black seal appeared on his abdomen. It was twisting black marks, dark as ink, swirling around a central core. It appeared and disappeared, like it had a mind of its own. It had been there for as long as he could remember, and it never seemed to go away, no matter how he tried to wash it off. He didn't know why it was there, because no one else he knew had it. Sasuke and Saukra certainly didn't have it.

Naruto tried finding answers for months. He even went to Sakura, the smartest person he knew, but even she couldn't tell what it was for or how it got there. Sasuke, too, was stumped. They both, however, agreed to keep it a secret for the time being, on one condition.

"Naruto, if you find out anything, _anything_ that could be dangerous about that seal, you _need_ to tell Kakashi. Promise me!"

He had sworn, and that had been that. Most of the time, he hadn't found anything unusual about it at all. Until now.

He recalled the feeling of bloodlust, of dread and anger and utter desire for annihilation when he saw Sakura being beaten up. That moment when his vision turned red and he could barely breathe and he was so, so, so angry.

The same thing that happened with the monster in the first part of his dream.

Could it be that they were related...?

He took another look at the peaceful, unburdened figures besides him, and with that he made up his mind. Naruto had never kept something this big from his siblings before, but he could remember the look of fear, concern, exhaustion, and utter burden on their faces as they spent hours fruitlessly trying to find something about seals in the public library. He never wanted to see them like that again.

He had no solid proof, Naruto reasoned. Until then, he shouldn't unnecessarily burden them.

Closing his eyes, Naruto drifted back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the breakfast table in shock.

"Dear Kami, please tell me that isn't a _human eyeball_ you have _skewered on a fork_." Naruto said shakily.

Anko grinned. "Okay. It isn't." She paused. "That was a lie, but you asked so I said it."

"Not helping!"

Sasuke wrinkled his nose. "You have a _blood stain _on your floor."

"Do I?"

"_Yes_."

Anko blinked. "Whoops. Forgot to clean that one up. Such a hassle."

"Uh, sensei, is that a plaque commemorating ten years of _Torture &amp; Interrogation work_!?"

"Mhmm. Totally proud of that one. That was a couple years ago though. I should be getting my commemorative fifteen year one soon."

"...You're _psychotic_." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Yup! Pass the dango!"

"Whoa whoa _whoa_, I'm eating it first!" Sakura replied, holding a stick of dango protectively.

Anko narrowed her eyes. "Now just hold on a damn second there. I will _fight_ you for that fucking dango."

"I will fight you _back_ for this fucking dango."

Naruto and Sasuke gaped helplessly as the two females engaged in a glare war, in which Anko seemed to be winning. After a tense seventeen seconds, Sakura gave up. "Hmph. You always win."

"Course I do. I'm just badass like that."

"Am I the only one still not over the whole eyeball thing?" Naruto asked plaintively. He was ignored.

"More like you're 'picking on a six year old'." Sakura grumbled.

"Aw, the way you say that makes it sound like I'm being unreasonably mean!"

They stared. "Anko-sensei," Sakura said plaintively, "you made us do manual labor for a hour last night after we suffered severe emotional trauma at the hands of the Hokage. You woke Sasuke up at 2:40 in the morning with a ghost mask and made him scream bloody murder. And then you tried serving us cow intestines for breakfast, which we continuously refused until you relented and gave us dango instead." She glared. "You are, for all intents and purposes, unreasonably mean."

Anko had the gall to look sheepish. "Just having some fun with you pipsqueaks."

"_Well it's not funny_!"

* * *

Sasuke had a feeling that Anko was crazy the second he saw her.

Now, he had proof.

Anko was sadistic. She was one of Morino Ibiki's - his father once called him a 'madman' - best torture experts, not to mention she was a bit _unhinged_.

Anko was obsessed with sugar. Dango, to be specific. Sasuke himself hated sweets, so that was more points lost in her favor.

Anko was horrible at parenting. She first treated them like glass dolls, saying absolutely zero swear words and tip-toeing around them like glass, before realizing that yes, thry were alive, yes, they knew the 'f' word, yes, they were mature for their age, and yes, they could move and think like your average human being. Then, she treated them as equals, playing pranks and games and swearing like a sailor - Sasuke was almost positive he would never swear again.

No, seriously. He did NOT want to turn out like Anko.

Anko had gotten dangerously drunk last night, leading to her tossing curse words around like candy - to the point that 'fuck' and 'shit' didn't sound like real words anymore. If Kakashi was here, he'd most certainly skin her alive.

Kakashi. There was a sobering topic.

Despite his outward appearance, Sasuke was completely and utterly guilt-ridden. His now surrogate father - he would take that secret to his grave - was out there on an incredibly dangerous mission that, in all likelihood, he would not return from.

Sasuke was young, extremely young in fact, but he was also a prodigy, a genius if you will. He understood that death was something you couldn't come back from, that it was a final and permanent end to everything. As such, Sasuke feared death. The thought of not living, of not breathing or thinking of moving and just being _gone_, was terrifying.

He knew the severity of an S-Rank. He had seen cousins go on missions and never come back. He had been to the clan funerals, where everyone would gather next to a gravestone dressed in mourning colors.

The thought that Kakashi would suffer the same fate, and by his hand...

Sasuke was _devastated_.

He had already lost one family, to the hate and corruption. He could not bear to lose part of his new one.

"Oi, Sasuke." Naruto called.

"What?" Sasuke was immediately snapped out of his depressing thoughts when his blonde, hyperactive nutjob of a brother interrupted.

"Stop brooding! You have that look on your face!" _Whoops_. "C'mhere and play! Anko gave us a cardboard box and some markers to play with!"

Sasuke blinked. Looking around, he noticed that, in fact, there was a cardboard box sitting on the ground in front of them. Immediately a hailstorm of ideas started swirling into his head about what kind of adventures they could have with the box. They could be pirates, or samurai, or even a daimyo...

Sakura, who was sitting next to said box, looked surprisingly subdued. She was normally peppy, albeit not to Naruto's extent.

His older brother instincts reared their head and pushing his growing excitement aside, he asked her curiously, "You okay, imouto?"

She blinked, jumping slightly. Obviously she was startled. "No, nothing." she replied, laughing it off. "Let's play!"

"Sure." Sasuke let it go, but promised himself to keep an eye on her. He wasn't _stupid_.

Grabbing a green marker, he wielded it like a sword. "Let's do this."

* * *

Normally, Anko didn't make a habit of spying in general- okay, that was a lie. She didn't make a habit of spying on _little kids_, because _that_ was pedophilia. Doing creepy underage stuff like that was more her old sensei's forte.

But Anko was observing those kids, watching their personalities and interactions. She had a feeling that they were more mature and much more fucked up than the general populace realized, Kakashi included. And as his friend-enemy-rival-torturer, it was her responsibility to make sure that those kids were okay, that Kakashi would be okay with raising them, and that those kids would be okay with him raising them.

They were smart. Maybe not so much the blonde one, but Pinkie especially was extremely intelligent. They knew words and theories and general knowledge that should be far beyond the average children.

They were determined. She didn't really know their motivation, but she assumed it had something to do with protecting one another and shoving it in their former family's faces that they were awesome and badass and stuff.

But most of all, they were mysterious. Each and every one of them was holding a secret from her (and maybe Kakashi). Whether it was dangerous, tragic, or both, they were an unknown variable and as a ninja she knew to fear the unknown.

Did she fear those kids? No. Did she fear what they could become, if pushed hard enough in the wrong direction? _Yes_.

Anko knew first hand what a bad upbringing could do to someone. How it could fuck that person over physically and mentally, maybe for the rest of their lives.

Training them to be weapons was an extremely bad call on Kakashi's part. Perhaps he didn't know any better, being a child prodigy himself, or maybe he wanted them to be able to protect themselves. But the life of a ninja was dangerous, and bloody, and for kids with so much potential but so much darkness in them, it could ruin them.

Like it ruined her.

She was a sadist, a psychopath, a snake mistress with no loyalty, a loose cannon. She knew it, and so did everyone else. She knew she was fucked up and could do NOTHING.

She smiled. It was hollow.

There was nothing she could do. The ball had already been set in motion, and she couldn't stop it.

They were brilliant. They would become prodigies. Legends. Monsters. Weapons. That she was sure of. It would either raise them up or completely decimate theme inside.

Anko was growing attached to those poor brats. She just hoped they could make it through this, that they were stronger than she was.

That they were stronger than she could ever be.

**Summer has come to relieve me and my muse has returned from her hibernation/pouting session. Thanks for your patience and reviews, everyone! Also, it's been over a year since I first posted this, which is making me nostalgic.**

**...**

**I've only posted 11 chapters in one year...this is going to take forever.**

**This chapter, while nice, was really just to move the plot along a bit. We get some really weird dreams for Naruto, some angsting from Sasuke (who finally revealed how he feels betrayed by his brother), and some ****mysterious sadness from Sakura. Anko is more observant than they realize, too.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed.**

**R&amp;R!**

**Love,**

**ShiningSunsets**


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